Fugitive
by AgentBelle-97
Summary: After 7 long years away from home, Mia Halstead finally returns back to Chicago after living in New York. An unbreakable bond with one brother and an unsteady bond with the other, Mia finally believes she can start over. But her struggles are never really over. What happens when her past catches up to her? What happens when she needs her brother's help? Will she ask him? Or not?
1. Chapter 1

The flight from New York to Chicago took about one hour and forty-nine minutes. During the journey, Mia found herself feeling paranoid, as if everything would just come at her, wrap around her neck and choke her to death. Nothing in her life made sense anymore. Well, nothing made sense to her ever since her mother died years ago. The only person she could ever count on to help her, to protect her, to support her...was her brother. And she needed to find him fast.

* * *

"Jay!" Mia hugged her older brother tightly, burying her face into his shoulder.

"I'm really happy you're back, Mia," Jay confessed.

"Well, Chicago's home, I was going to come back at some point."

Jay chuckled, wrapping his strong arm around Mia's slim shoulders, before grabbing her bag with his free hand. He raised an eyebrow at the bag. "That's it? No other bags?"

Mia smiled sheepishly. "Uh yeah, it was a last minute decision to come back."

"Mia?" Jay asked, his voice lowering in pitch. He was concerned. As a Chicago cop, in the Intelligence Unit, he had been taught to watch body language and any sign of hesitation or nervousness on the criminal's part, including the eyes. He hadn't missed the way his younger sister's body had stiffened and how her eyes had immediately averted from his.

"Jay, it's nothing," Mia lied. "I just felt homesick."

Jay decided to let it go for now. "Alright," he conceded, hugging Mia again. "Let's get home."

Mia raised an eyebrow. "You mean, home with your girlfriend, right?"

Jay laughed as the two Halstead walked to his car. "Yeah, I live with her."

"I'm so proud of you, Jay," Mia smiled warmly. "You've come so far. Don't let what happened screw what you have, because even though I haven't met her yet, I know she's special. If my big brother is dating and living with his current girlfriend, she must really be a keeper."

"Trust me, you'll love her and she'll love you."

Mia nodded as she jumped into the passenger seat of Jay's car. He placed her bag in the trunk of his SUV before he hopped into the driver's seat and gunned the engine. There was a comfortable silence, one Mia would have loved to stay in, if it meant forgetting about everything else. But she hadn't seen her brother in ages and she wanted to catch up with him.

"So Intelligence huh?" Mia grinned. "How'd you manage that, brother?"

Jay shook his head, his eyes trained on the road ahead. "Try getting shot in the shoulder," he replied.

Mia's eyes widened in shock. "You're kidding me, right?"

"Nope," he said, popping the 'p'. "It was an undercover op in a gang unit. My only option was to attack before they burned the bar down."

"Wow. Well, as much as I wish I had known, I'm just glad you aren't dead," Mia commented, looking out the window.

* * *

Forty minutes later, Mia and Jay reached Erin's and Jay's apartment. Still holding his sister's bag, Jay grabbed the apartment keys from the back pocket of his jeans. He unlocked the front door and ushered Mia in ahead of him. Mia stepped into the well-furnished and neat little apartment, and her eyes landed on a beautiful, slim woman.

"Mia, that's my girlfriend and partner from work, Erin Lindsay," Jay introduced. "Erin, this is my little sister, Mia."

Erin stepped forward, a friendly smile on her face. "It's nice to finally meet you, Mia," she remarked, every word filled with pure honesty. She shook Mia's hand.

Mia smiled back graciously. She was already liking her brother's girlfriend, even though they had just met, and that was saying a lot, considering that in the past, when they had been younger, Mia had always been disapproving of the girls he had been with, including Allie Corson for a while.

"I'm really grateful you offered to let me stay here, Erin," Mia responded back. "I told Jay I would be okay staying at a hotel."

Erin laughed. "Oh please, I could use more of a womanly touch here. Ever since your brother moved in, this apartment has slowly been turning into a man-cave."

Mia laughed as she watched Jay roll his eyes at his girlfriend. "Very funny, Er," he muttered, taking Mia's bag to the guest room.

Erin ushered Mia to the couch. "Want something to drink, Mia? Beer? Coffee?"

"Thanks, Erin. A beer would be nice," Mia agreed.

As Erin headed into the kitchen, Jay returned and sat down beside his sister. Erin returned immediately with three beer bottles, handing one to Mia and one to Jay. She sat in a chair opposite the Halsteads.

Mia brought the bottle to her lips. "So, Erin, you work in Intelligence Unit too?"

"Oh yeah," Erin nodded, sipping her beer. "For a while now. How about you?"

"Until yesterday, I was a cop in the NYPD," Mia replied, sitting back. "I needed a change of scenery and well, I was homesick for Chicago. So I'm back."

"We've worked with detectives from NYPD's Special Victims Unit. We never came across you, though," Erin said.

"I wasn't willing to work in that unit," Mia shrugged, taking another swig of beer. "So I was a normal detective, you never would have come across me."

Erin laughed. "Of course. Well, to be honest, I think it's pretty awesome you were a cop in New York."

Mia smiled. "I'm pretty envious you're a cop in Chicago, Erin!"

"I see you guys are getting along pretty well without me," Jay joked, watching the sudden friendship between his girlfriend and his younger sister evolve.

"Don't be jealous, Halstead," Erin winked. "There's plenty of me to go around."

Mia laughed as Jay raised an eyebrow at Erin. Mia's eyes landed on the clock beside the TV and she leaned forward, placing her beer bottle down on the table in front of her. "I, um, I need to use the bathroom," she admitted.

Erin stood up. "Sure, follow me." Mia got up and followed Erin into the guest room. Just like the rest of the apartment, it was well-furnished and Mia knew at once she would feel at home in no time.

"Right here," Erin pointed at the door. "This is now your room, Mia. Get comfy." She smiled at the younger girl before heading back outside.

Mia grabbed her bag and opened the zipper. She tucked her phone into her back pocket and found her toiletry case. She took it into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. She took in her appearance, and splashed water onto her face, her hands gripping the edges of the sink tightly, her knuckles turning white as she did so.

 _Calm down, Mia_ , she berated herself, breathing in deeply. _You're not in New York anymore._

She raised her blue eyes into the mirror and steadied herself. _You got this._

With a shaky hand, she reached for her toiletry case and took out a tube of cream. She slowly pulled off her blouse, and looked through the mirror at the jagged scar across her slim, smooth stomach. Tears of shame and hurt began to cloud her vision, her breath shaking as she squeezed some of the cream onto her stomach.

* * *

Jay was worried. His younger sister was definitely hiding something from him, he just didn't know what it was and how to make her open up to him. He just needed her to trust him, like she had when they were little, and he would find a way to get her to open to him without pressuring her into doing so.

"Jay?" Erin snapped her fingers in front of her boyfriend's face.

"What?" Jay was stunned out of his train of thoughts.

"Did you hear what I said?"

"Umm," Jay scratched his chin sheepishly. "Not exactly."

Erin rolled her eyes, gently shoving his shoulder. "God, Halstead."

"I'm sorry!" Jay apologised. "What were you saying?"

"I was just saying, Mia's been in the bathroom for over fifteen minutes now...Is that normal for her?"

Jay jumped up off the couch. Without answering Erin, he raced into the guest room and approached the bathroom door. Erin appeared right behind him. Judging by the panicked look in Jay's blue eyes and the way he had ignored Erin calling after him, she knew something was wrong.

Jay raised his fisted hand to knock on the door but his hand stopped inches away from the door. He turned to Erin, mouthing, 'hear that?'

Erin nodded, her eyes wide with concern. Jay pressed his ear to the door, and knew he hadn't been hearing things. He turned back to Erin, his eyes looking conflicted, but the pain behind them was evident.

Erin raised a hand and rubbed his chest. "We'll figure it out, Jay," she whispered. "I promise. I will help."

Jay nodded, leaning back against the wall and sliding to the ground. With one knee raised, he placed an arm over it and buried his face into his arm. Erin slid beside him, gently rubbing his arm and placing her head on his shoulder.

They both just sat there, listening to Mia's broken sobs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2 guys! Since ch1 got good reviews, I was inspired to get ch2 up too. Thank you for all the great reviews! But i really want to dedicate this chapter to my two amazing friends, Mia (onechicago-ff) and Lexi ( .Linstead), you guys are the best and my inspirations! Hope you all like this chapter, please leave me your reviews!**

* * *

Once Mia had composed herself, she replaced the tube back into her toiletry bag and zipped it up. She stepped out of the bathroom and suddenly found herself face to face with Jay and Erin.

Mia noticed the helpless look on Jay's face. "Jay?"

"Are you okay?" Jay asked, stepping forward to place his hands on his sister's shoulders.

Mia forced a smile onto her face. "Just glad to be home," she lied once again.

Jay nodded and enveloped her into a hug again. Erin smiled at the sight. When Mia pulled away from Jay, she looked over at Erin.

"I hope you're ready to hear the most embarrassing stories about your boyfriend here," Mia teased, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. "He has A LOT!"

Jay groaned as Erin laughed, giving Mia a high-five. "Hell yeah, I'm ready!" Erin smirked.

Just as Mia was about to reply, the sound of her mobile phone ringing stopped her. Pulling away from her brother's grip, Mia reached into her back pocket to take her phone out.

Her eyes landed on the screen. "I-I gotta take this," she informed Jay and Erin apologetically.

They nodded. But neither of them had missed the stiff posture of Mia's body or the way the color had drained from her face when she looked at the caller ID.

Mia slid the answer bar and walked away, placing the phone to her ear. "I told you to stop calling me," she hissed angrily, doing her best to keep her voice low. "I'm NOT doing it any longer."

* * *

"There's definitely something she's hiding from me," Jay whispered to Erin.

"I don't know her that well yet, Jay, but I can see one thing," Erin revealed. "She keeps her emotions bottled up, like you do. And she won't open up yet."

"I'm her brother, goddamn it!" Jay sighed frustratedly. "She should feel comfortable telling me ANYTHING."

Erin stepped closer to Jay, gently wrapping her slim arms around his waist and lower back. She allowed one hand to slip underneath his shirt, coming to a rest on his rock-hard, toned abs. "Jay, she will. Give her some time. You gave me time to open up to you and it worked. I'm positive Mia will soon come around. Okay? Just don't pressure her into telling you."

"I can't stand not knowing why she's hurting, Erin," Jay muttered, wrapping his strong arms around Erin's slim waist and pressing his forehead to hers. "Something happened in New York. And it doesn't look good."

"I know, babe," Erin nodded, leaving a kiss on the corner of his mouth. "I'm here to help you both. But you need to be patient with her. Alright?"

"Yeah, you're right," Jay agreed, closing his eyes briefly and taking a deep breath.

Erin pressed her lips to his, her hands trailing beneath his t-shirt, tracing the hard muscles of his abs and chest. Jay's hands made their way up to Erin's face. Cupping her face, he kissed her harder, slowly backing her against the wall as she grabbed him by the belt to pull him closer, pressing her chest to his body, revelling in their close proximity which made Erin's heart pump a thousand times harder.

Erin hooked her fingers in Jay's belt, her lips finding his neck. He kissed her jaw, his hands running along her smooth stomach from beneath her top.

"Guys, really?" Mia whined, slapping a palm to her face. "I'm scarred for life now."

Erin and Jay had pulled away the moment Mia had spoke. Erin's cheeks were flushed a bright shade of red, and her chest was heaving as she struggled to catch her breath. Jay Halstead always had a way of taking her breath away. She really was completely in love with him.

Mia smirked at Jay. "You've really got him hooked around your finger, haven't you, Erin?"

Jay shot his sister a playful glare. Erin laughed, patting Jay's chest. "I sure do, Mia," she winked at the younger Halstead.

Mia's smirk widened, but her eyes shone with happiness for both Jay and Erin. She didn't need to be a detective to see how much they loved each other. And it warmed her heart to know that despite everything her brother had been through, he'd found someone who truly loved him for him. Not just for his body or looks.

 _Maybe I'll find a love like that one day_ , Mia thought.

* * *

Later that night, Mia went to bed. Jay and Erin headed to their own room, while Mia changed into her night clothes and washed up before hopping into bed. She placed her phone on the beside table and connected it to the charger. After checking to see if she had any missed calls or messages, she finally locked her phone and pulled the blanket over her body.

Her eyes closed almost instantly, which was new for her. For the past 7 years, it hadn't been this easy for her to fall asleep.

Her alarm woke her up at 7:00am. She got out of bed, washed, brushed her teeth and then changed into her running tights and sleeveless exercise top. She plugged headphones into her phone and popped the ear buds into her ears.

She headed out and started to jog. It was relaxing to know how well she remembered her way around despite having not visited her hometown for 7 years.

Heading towards Hyde Central Park where she used to love jogging as a young girl, Mia came across a group of drunken guys, who eyed her body hungrily.

"Nice ass, babe. You should bring it over to my place," one of them slurred.

Mia sound around, jogging backwards. "Dream on, asshole," she retorted, holding her middle finger in the air before spinning back and picking her pace up as she ran.

* * *

It was 8am when Mia returned back, drenched in sweat. She showered and freshened up, finding Jay and Erin in the kitchen.

"Morning, lovebirds," Mia smiled.

"Morning, Mia," Erin beamed. "There's coffee if you want."

"Who doesn't want coffee?" Mia replied, heading to the counter. She poured herself coffee before mixing cream into it.

The three of them sat around the table. Jay looked at Mia. "You went for a jog, didn't you?"

Mia nodded, sipping her coffee. "Yup, I missed jogging in Hyde Park."

Erin scratched her chin thoughtfully. "I was thinking, Mia..."

"She doesn't usually think a lot so this has to be good," Jay quipped, earning him a playful but powerful punch to the shoulder.

Mia laughed at the way Erin rolled her eyes at Jay. "Anyway, as I was saying, maybe you could ask for a transfer."

Mia raised an eyebrow. "To where exactly?"

"Intelligence," Erin responded causally.

Jay almost choked on his coffee and Mia looked at her older brother, an amused expression forming on her face.

"Um what?" Jay asked his girlfriend.

Erin shrugged. "She was cop in New York, they can transfer her to our unit. With Burgess gone, we need another member and I know Voight will accept her."

Mia raised her hand up. "Wait wait. Did I hear you right, Erin? The Hank Voight is your boss?"

Erin nodded. "Yup, he is. Why?"

"He's come to New York, many times to help out," Mia answered. "I may have worked with him a couple of times."

This time, Jay did in fact choke on his coffee and Erin had to pat his back to get him to stop coughing. Mia shook her head at him.

"He doesn't know I'm your sister, Jay," Mia assured him. "I wasn't...Detective Halstead there."

Erin looked confused. "What name did you go by then?"

"I used my middle name...Allyson." Mia's eyes landed on Jay and he looked meaningfully at her, but his eyes reflected the pain they were both feeling at that moment.

"Uhm," Jay cleared his throat. "That was Mom's name, she died of cancer," he told his girlfriend.

Erin sent a sympathetic glance in both Halsteads' direction. She knew what it felt like to lose a mother to cancer, she could relate to it. Relate to their pain and loss.

"On a lighter note, though," Mia spoke up. "I think I might consider the offer, Erin. I'll talk to my boss soon."

Erin smiled. "I'm glad. I could use another female in the unit again."

"I would love to be a cop again, so I'm in," Mia grinned happily.

Erin clapped her hands. Just then, Jay's mobile rang. He picked it up. "Halstead."

Both Mia and Erin looked at him. "Okay, Sarge, we'll be there in thirty," Jay replied before hanging up. He turned to Erin. "We caught a case. Robbery gone wrong."

Erin nodded grimly. "Okay." She turned back to Mia. "Look, this is now your home too. Feel free here. I'll talk to Voight and let him know about you possibly transferring."

"I appreciate it, Erin," Mia nodded gratefully. The truth was, being a cop made her happy and she needed to get her mind off from New York. She could only hope Voight would allow her into his unit.

* * *

Jay and Erin left for the district, reaching in twenty minutes. They scanned their palms and headed straight up to the bullpen. Heading to his desk, Jay dropped his leather jacket on the back of his chair and leaned into his desk.

Hank Voight stepped out from his office, arms crossed. "We got a dead girl, 18. Looks like she was raped and then murdered. Shot. We find who did this, even if it takes all night. Got it?"

The team nodded, sombre looks upon all their faces.

"Do we have the murder weapon?" Erin asked Voight.

"So far, there's nothing we have to go on, except the bullet that killed Fiona Raymond," Adam Ruzek piped up.

"Halstead, Lindsay, talk to the parents. See if they can offer up any kind of motive as to why someone would target their daughter," Voight ordered.

Jay grabbed his jacket and Erin pointed at Kevin Atwater. "Atwater, send me the address."

"On it," Atwater nodded.

Erin followed right behind Jay. They got into their GMC Sierra, Jay taking the wheel.

"23rd Hedgeway Grove, Apt 3," Erin told her partner.

The ride took about fifteen minutes but the two detective's finally reached the house. It was time to talk to Fiona Raymond's parents.

* * *

Back at the apartment, Mia was watching TV. She was very unsuccessfully trying to keep herself occupied without Jay and Erin around. A loud knock on the door startled her out of her wits.

Frowning, Mia stood up and approached the door. There was no keyhole, she just had to open the door. Which proved to be her mistake.

The minute she did, the butt of a gun connected with her head. Mia stumbled back, blood clouding her vision. She felt a har fist connected with her stomach, and the breath was knocked out of her. Another fist connected with her head, blurring her vision and she collapsed to the floor, only to receive a vicious kick right in the face, drawing blood from her lip and nose.

She struggled to reach her phone, as her assailant stomped on her hand. She cried out as she heard the bones on her wrist crack.

The attacker grabbed her roughly by her top before slamming her head back down against the floor. Now utterly weak, and in pain, Mia could barely keep her eyes open. Her finger just managed to press speed dial for Jay.

The attacker didn't notice the movement and he yanked her by the hair roughly.

"You could have saved yourself this, you know," the assailant spoke, his voice low and gravelly.

"Go. To. Hell," Mia managed to say, only to received another blow to her stomach.

Her cries of pain reached Jay over the phone.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Ch3 is up! Thank you, Mia, for helping me with ideas! And for your support! You too, Lexi! Love you both! Please guys, read and review, thanks!**

* * *

Jay's body tensed, the phone still to his ear. Erin didn't miss the way he immediately dropped the phone and grabbed his leather jacket off the back of his chair.

"Sarge," Jay turned to Voight, his eyes full of worry and his jaw clenched. "I need to get to Erin's apartment right now. Someone's there."

Hank saw the urgency in the young detective's eyes. "I'll be right behind you and Erin."

Jay nodded and took off down the precinct stairs, Erin right behind him. Voight looked at the rest of the team and told them to keep working the current case.

As soon as Jay and Erin jumped into their car, Erin watched her boyfriend gun the engine and step on the accelerator. "Jay, talk to me," Erin spoke worriedly. "What happened?"

"Mia called," Jay replied, his voice strained. "She didn't say anything...I just-," he swallowed, his eyes full of pain, "I just heard her cry out in pain. And there was another voice."

Erin gasped, a hand flying to her mouth. Even though she had only just met Mia, she still had a soft spot for the younger Halstead and her heart hurt at the fact that she was being attacked by somebody. _Likely from her past,_ Erin thought.

They reached Erin's apartment in fifteen minutes, despite how rashly and rapidly Jay drove. With Voight right behind, the two detectives grabbed their guns from their holster on their belts and ran to Erin's door. Jay stopped at the door, which had been left ajar...But there was no sign of any forced entry. Which meant Mia had opened the door.

Jay stepped inside the apartment, his gun raised, Erin imitating his movements. Voight was at their heels, his gun drawn too, but at his side.

Jay's eyes fell on Mia's phone, which had a cracked screen now. The blood on the floor caused Jay's body to stiffen. Mia was badly hurt, he knew as much now. He stepped over her phone, while Erin bent down to packet Mia's phone in a zip-lock bag for evidence.

Jay continued onwards, Voight behind him. But after checking his and Erin's room and Mia's own room, the signs were pretty clear...Mia was gone.

* * *

Back at the precinct, Jay and Erin followed Voight up the stairs and straight into the bullpen. Jay leaned against his table, arms crossed over his chest. Meanwhile, Voight turned and stood in front of the briefing board. "We're bumping this case down to robbery homicide," he announced to the team. "We caught a new case."

"About?" Ruzek asked.

"Assault and possible kidnapping," Voight informed them.

Erin watched Jay's jaw clench, his eyes hardening. This was his sister, he had every right to be angry. Erin was hoping that the blood had not been cause Mia had been violated in any way, but they couldn't know for sure until they found her. And Erin knew the team would bust their asses off to find Jay's little sister.

Erin grabbed Mia's photo and stuck it into the briefing board. She grabbed a marker and wrote the information beneath the photo. _Mia Allyson Halstead, 27. Former NYPD cop. Assaulted in apartment and possibly kidnapped._

Atwater, Ruzek and Olinsky all turned to Jay the moment they saw the name. Clearly none of them had known that Jay had a younger sister, but then again, he hadn't always been a very open person.

Voight recognized the woman as the bright young detective he had worked with when he had been in New York for cases, except there he had known her as Detective Allyson. She was good police, and Sargeant Olivia Benson had nothing but praise for Mia.

"What do we know so far?" Olinsky finally spoke, his eyes moving back to Jay.

Jay ran a hand over his face before stepping forward. "We found her phone but its smashed. If we can get it to work, we could start with seeing who called her yesterday night. I felt something was off about her after she got that call."

"I can help with that."

At the sound of the familiar voice, everyone turned their heads. Their eyes landed on none other than Mouse, who had re-deployed into the Rangers. Mouse came forward, and everyone hugged him. Including Jay.

"Nice to see you in one piece, Mouse," Voight nodded, shaking his former tech's hand, but there was a hint of pride in his eyes.

Once all the greetings had taken place, Mouse reached his hand out to grip Jay's shoulder. "I'm gonna get this working," he promised, shaking the evidence bag with Mia's phone in it. "We're gonna catch the bastard."

Jay nodded once. He appreciated having his long-time friend back, someone who was also great friends with Mia.

"Mouse, we'll need you to pull Mia's records from the NYPD database," Voight instructed. "There has to be some kind of lead we can get."

"On it, Sarge," Mouse nodded, occupying his old desk.

Within two minutes he had pulled up Mia's records. "Got it," he announced. "Says here-," he stopped, his eyes flicking up nervously to meet Jay's.

"Mouse," Jay raised an eyebrow, his face serious. "What does it say?"

Mouse swallowed. "Mia was in some kind of trouble in New York, but the file is locked. I can't see what kind of trouble she was in."

"What else?" Olinsky asked.

"Um, she was a CI for Sargeant Benson for about a year," Mouse went on, his eyes still trained on Jay.

"And she was a cop?" Ruzek commented, incredulously.

Jay turned on his friend and colleague. "I'm sorry, Adam. Is there something you want to say about my sister?"

"Um," Ruzek shrunk back from Jay's cold gaze. "Just, nothing, man. I didn't mean any offence."

"Good," Erin piped up, feeling the need to come to Mia's defence. "There's absolutely nothing wrong in having been a CI and then becoming a cop."

"And she was damn good one too," Voight added, his steel gaze landing on Ruzek. "There's no room for judgement here, Ruzek. You either work your ass off to find her or get out."

"Yes, Sarge," Ruzek nodded.

Jay appreciated Erin standing up to defend Mia, but he was shocked that Voight had also decided to do the same.

Everyone got back to work. Jay found himself wandering into the break room, he definitely needed coffee to help him clear his mind, even if only for a moment. All this new information about his sister had taken a toll on him, though he always found a way to hide his true emotions.

"Jay?" Erin appeared beside him, slowly moving one hand to touch his bicep. She could feel his tensed muscles and knew he was worried. Of course he would be, she couldn't blame him for it.

"It's going to be fine, we're gonna catch the asshole, I promise," Erin whispered, moving her hand to rub his back gently.

"I'm worried sick, Erin," Jay whispered his confession, his eyes meeting hers, and that was when Erin saw the pain behind them. "I have no idea where Mia is...I don't know if she's even alive...And if she is, I have no clue what the son of bitch is doing do her!" Jay's voice broke, and he leaned forward against the counter, closing his eyes as Erin wrapped her arms around his lower back. Although she was not fond of any kind of public display of affection in the work atmosphere, she knew Jay needed her at the moment and she was going to be there for him, no matter what.

"Jay, she's alive, I'm sure she is," Erin spoke, her voice strong. But she could feel tears in her own eyes, seeing her boyfriend so broken and vulnerable. It hurt her heart more than she could describe. "And when we catch the bastard, Voight will give him hell, you can be sure of that."

Jay nodded. He knew he needed to stay strong. For Mia.

"Does Will know?" Erin asked softly.

"I-I haven't called him," Jay admitted.

"Why not?"

Jay hesitated.

Erin watched him closely. "Jay, he's her brother too. He deserves to know."

"I'll call him," Jay promised finally.

* * *

Will walked into the bullpen, looking flustered. "Jay," he went over to his brother. "Where is she?"

Jay sighed. "We're looking, we still haven't found any significant leads."

"You're telling me, our sister was attacked in yours and Erin's apartment a day after coming to Chicago, she was abducted and you have no idea where she is?" Will's voice rose in pitch, his eyes wide with worry.

"We're doing everything we can, Will," Erin reassured him, standing beside Jay. "We'll find her."

"You do realise she could be dead by the time you guys get to her?" Will asked, looking at all the members of the Intelligence Unit.

"That's not gonna happen," Voight spoke out.

"Do you know anything? ANYTHING at all?" Will asked, turning to Jay. When Jay didn't respond, Will groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead. "Of course she didn't tell you."

Jay stood straighter instantly, unlocking his arms from across his chest. "Will, what didn't she tell me?"

"In New York," Will rubbed his forehead. "She had a boyfriend, a fiancé, whatever. I don't know what their status is now, I just know she was engaged to him."

Jay was frozen, his jaw muscles jumping. How could Mia have not told him she was engaged? And yet Will knew?

"Name?" Voight asked.

"She never mentioned his full name, just his surname," Will admitted. "Gilmore."

"Is that all you know about him?" Jay asked, but from the tone of his voice, Will knew he was hurt that Mia hadn't mentioned anything to him about having been engaged. Will always wondered why, when she was closer to Jay than she was to him.

"That's all I could get from her," Will sighed sadly before checking his wrist watch. "I gotta get back to my shift. Jay, keep me updated?"

"Yeah, I will," Jay nodded.

* * *

Mia's head started pounding as she struggled against the ropes binding her wrists behind her back. She could feel the fibre digging into her skin, rubbing over the raw flesh. Blood ran down her face, and from her nose and lip too. Her stomach was sore, probably bruised from how violently she had been punched.

"You're awake," a male voice commented, stepping out of the shadow and into the light.

Mia choked, her eyes wide. She knew this man.

"I warned you, Mia," he remarked, crouching over her body, pulling out a knife and pressing the tip against her throat so that drops of blood appeared. "You can't run from me."

"L-Lucas, please."


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch4 guys! Hope you like it! Please read and review! All the love xx**

* * *

Mia's eyes fluttered open. She could barely see anything, but her eyes had finally adjusted to the dark and dank basement she was being held in. As she moved, a painful gasp left her lips. Her body was on fire, and her head was pounding against her skull, as if threatening to burst out of the top of her head. She finally became aware of the fact that she was standing, but her wrists were duct-taped together, hanging from a hook on the ceiling. The cold air of the room did nothing to help Mia's fears, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She was trapped. Who would save her this time?

Lucas appeared, and Mia composed herself, her eyes glaring defiantly into his steely gray ones. "What do you want with me, Lucas?" she spat icily.

"I always told you, Mia, that feisty nature of yours would get you into huge trouble," Lucas responded, smirking maliciously. "I can see how right I was."

"Get over yourself, asshole," Mia shot back.

Lucas just cackled. "Your cop brother...what's his name...Jay isn't it?"

Mia set her jaw, struggling against the duct-tape holding her wrists above her head. "Keep away from him, you bastard!"

Lucas grinned, raising his hands in the air. "I haven't touched him, sweetheart. Not yet, at least." His grin widened when he said the last part, sending shivers up Mia's spine. Only then did she fully comprehend she was a little too vulnerable and exposed in front of Lucas.

"You shouldn't have come back here, Mia," Lucas continued. "You've only made it worse for Jay."

"Lucas, please," Mia begged. "You can do whatever you want to me, just please, leave Jay alone. And Will. Please. They don't need you to screw their lives up like you did mine."

"Well honey." Lucas stepped closer to Mia, his rough hands running up her bare sides. "You should have thought of that BEFORE you came back."

Mia cringed at his touch, and she raised a knee, effectively getting him straight in the balls. Lucas collapsed, howling in pain and Mia smiled in satisfaction. She knew she had probably signed her death warrant but it was worth it, seeing Lucas cower like the pathetic son of a bitch he was.

Lucas lay on the floor, curled up for about a good five minutes. Mia took that time to admire her handy work. She had gotten him real good. Finally he raised himself to his feet, his eyes wild.

"I'm gonna make you pay for that, bitch," he growled, grabbing a fistful of her hair and yanking her head back harshly, causing her to cry out in pain. "You're gonna remember what it's like."

Mia struggled in his grasp, and he punched her in the stomach, making her double over in pain. She tried to catch her breath but he socked her again, multiple times. He stopped suddenly and stepped back, watching Mia gasp for air.

The pain radiating all over her body was unbearable. Each wave felt like somebody was continuously poking her with a hot metal rod. Lucas felt no sympathy, just triumphant. But he was nowhere neat done with her just yet.

Mia felt Lucas grab her hair again, pulling her to her feet.

"You wanted to know what I want, Mia?" Lucas hissed, grabbing her face roughly. "I want to make you suffer! For what you did, for leaving...For everything!"

"You want revenge, is that it?" Mia scoffed. "God, Lucas, you're pathetic."

Lucas pulled his knife back out. "I wasn't so pathetic when you believed my fairytale!"

Mia glared at him, her eyes hard and her gaze cold. "All you ever do is play with emotions. You get off on that don't you? Luring girls in and screwing with their feelings."

Lucas shook his head. Damn, Mia Halstead was the feistiest yet! Maybe he needed to teach her a lesson! Grabbing her face again, he pulled her body closer, placing his knife to her neck. "Oh sweetheart," he smirked, his lips inches away from hers, "But you liked it so much the last time, didn't you?"

Mia gulped, struggling to move away from him but he held her tightly. She felt the tip of the knife move down her body, and he dug it slowly into her thigh...She screamed in pain, and he laughed, digging the blade in deeper.

"Your torture has only just begun, babe."

Mia knew he was right. Her eyes widened in fear when she felt him against her again, his hand roaming all over her body, and the lust and malice in his eyes scared her. She prayed Jay would find her soon. She didn't how much she could handle before she well and truly broke.

Lucas shoved the blade into Mia's thigh deeper, eliciting another cry of pain from her lips, and it was music to his ear. He did enjoy it. Every moment, of every second of it, and he would do so again.

"S-stop," Mia pleaded, her thigh gushing out with blood. "Lucas..."

He slapped her across the face. "Remember what you are supposed to call me, bitch!?" he thundered.

Mia pressed her lips together. She wouldn't. Never again. She closed her eyes the moment she heard Lucas unbuckle his belt.

"No, please," Mia sobbed inaudibly.

* * *

"It's been a week, Erin!" Jay groaned, sitting forward and dropping his head in his hands. "We haven't found Mia yet!"

"Jay, we will," Erin reassured him, sitting beside him and squeezing his bicep gently. "We will. We just need to get our heads on straight. We know it's probably Gilmore behind this. We'll find her and we'll get him."

Jay looked up at Erin and the man she saw before her was not the same man she had always known, he was broken. Erin bit her lip, stopping herself from crying. She reached her hand out and Jay took it. She ran her thumb over his knuckles, which were bruised and cut from the amount of times he had punched the wall in anger and frustration. They had all been busting their asses off for a whole week but no news on Mia's whereabouts. They had reached out to all their CI's and Voight had even called over Sargeant Olivia Benson from the SVU in the NYPD to help. So far, no dice.

"Jay, Erin." Mouse appeared at the door way of the break room. "I got an address from the phone called Mia last week."

Jay stood up, immediately composing himself. "Give it to me."

"Jay," Mouse started. "Look, don't do anything stupid. You know we got eyes on us."

Jay nodded in response.

* * *

The address Mouse had provided proved to be the wrong one. Or, the suspect had vanished from there by the time the team had reached. Jay was getting more and more frustrated and worried each passing second. He was hurting, more for Mia than for himself. He had no idea what Gilmore could be doing to her, and he needed to know she was okay, she was alive...He was also mad at himself for failing to protect her, especially when she needed it most.

Jay stood in the locker room, arms behind his head, his eyes closed. He needed to keep his cool. He couldn't lose it. Not when they had eyes on them.

"Jay?"

Jay opened his eyes, turning around at the sound of his name. It was Mouse. He looked sad, even apologetic.

"I'm sorry, man," Mouse began. "I-"

"Did you know?" Jay interrupted. "Mia was engaged?"

"I-um," Mouse swallowed. "She was in a bad place, she called me...She mentioned a fiancé."

Jay felt like someone had just reached into his chest and yanked his heart out. He couldn't understand it. Mia had told Will and Mouse that she had a fiancé, but not him. He clenched his fist and banged it against the locker.

Mouse winced. "Jay, listen. She didn't want you to worry-"

"Worry? Why the hell would I worry about my little sister who was off in New York, doing God knows what and engaged to man who is probably torturing her right this moment?" Jay exploded, punching the locker again, this time so much harder that the skin on his knuckles scraped raw again and he leaned against the locker with one hand. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"She just didn't want you to get shot while on duty," Mouse whispered, softly. "She was worried about you, Jay. She didn't need you dying."

"And now she's paying the price for not telling me anything."

* * *

Sargeant Olivia Benson stood in front of the briefing board. The rest of Intelligence were right behind her, not saying a word.

"Lucas Gilmore," Benson suddenly turned around. "The man wanted for sex trafficking."

"You mean, he lured girls to him and sold them?" Ruzek asked.

"Exactly." Benson looked at Jay sadly. "Your sister, she was tasked with bringing in the girls."

Jay could feel the anger in his body, and the muscles in his jaw tightened. He didn't speak. But on the inside, he was heartbroken to hear all of that. How had Mia gotten involved with Lucas Gilmore?

Jay needed answers. And fast.

* * *

Loss of blood had made Mia weak. She could barely find the strength to keep standing. Her body hurt, her thigh was still gushing out with blood and there were fresh new cuts along her stomach and back. She couldn't even find the strength to cry anymore...Had Lucas finally broken her to the point of no retrieval?

Lucas stood over her, dusting his hands off and then zipping his pants back and buckling his belt. He dropped his knife at Mia's feet, laughing loudly. "Still as good as I remember, sweetheart," he grinned before walking out.

Mia's body felt heavy, and her eyes were slowly closing. She shook her head, knowing she needed to keep awake. But she was in so much pain, emotionally and physically, it was practically impossible to block her mind from it. A broken sob left her split lip, and she cried. She let it out.

It felt like a dream when Mia heard voices. "CPD!"

Her heart jumped a beat as she struggled against the tape. But her voice was practically raw and hoarse from all the screaming she had been doing for hours.

"Mia! Oh my God!" Jay appeared beside his sister, immediately yanking the duct tape apart in one strong motion. Mia collapsed into his arms, sobbing into his chest.

"Okay, hey," he whispered, stroking her hair and holding her to his chest. "I got you, Mia. I got you."

Erin and the rest of team ran downstairs the moment they had heard Jay yell. Erin's eyes watered when she took in Mia's state. Her heart broke for the Halstead siblings.

"Erin, call an ambo," Jay ordered, still holding onto Mia and stroking her back. Erin did not hesitate. "Mia, stay with me...Okay? Stay with me, please."

"I'm..so...t-tired, Jay," Mia mumbled, her eyelids fluttering. "I w-wanna sl-sleep."

Jay gently shook her. "Hey! Mia, stay awake. Help is on its way. You're gonna be okay."

"I-I'm sorry," Mia whispered painfully, before she allowed the darkness to envelop her into its sinister embrace.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch5 is here guys! Please read and review! And Mia, I freakin' love you, and without you, I don't know how I would find the energy to continue this! You're the Mouse to my Jay!**

* * *

"Dr. Halstead, incoming!" Maggie announced, as Gabby Dawson and Sylvie Brett rolled in gurney which Mia lay on.

Will had been engrossed in a heated conversation with his partner, Nina, and looked up when he heard his name. "Nat, I'll need a hand," he requested as he made his way to the gurney. He stopped immediately, his posture stiffening.

This did not go unnoticed by Dr. Manning. "What do we got?" she asked, noting how Will's face had paled.

Jay stepped forward, and Will noticed his brother. They locked eyes. "He can't treat her," Jay declared quickly.

"What? Why?" Maggie asked, looking confused.

"She's our sister," Jay replied, keeping his voice from cracking. He took a deep breath, struggling to keep his emotions in check.

Maggie's head whipped around to the Halstead brothers before nodding. She turned to find who she was looking for. "Dr. Rhodes, we need you over here."

Connor Rhodes quickly rushed over to the group. He noticed the distraught expression on his colleague's face and knew it was bad.

"27 year old female, Mia Halstead. Suspected rape, a deep knife laceration on the right thigh, and lacerations on her stomach and back. Lost consciousness at the scene," Gabby relayed quickly.

Dr. Manning and Dr. Rhodes nodded as they listened to the information.

* * *

Jay continuously paced in the waiting room, while Will looked sombre.

"Jay, come on. Sit down," Erin suggested, trying to get her boyfriend to listen to her. She had to try for him, she loved him. Seeing him look so helpless and agitated was killing her on the inside.

Jay finally sat down, leaning forward in the seat, his hands clasped together in front of him.

Ruzek, who had been sitting beside Voight and Burgess, spoke up. "Do you think she knew him?"

Those in the room looked at him as if he had just grown two heads. Jay was about to tell him to shut his mouth when Dr. Rhodes walked in. Both Jay and Will immediately stood up.

Dr. Rhodes stopped in front of his colleague and his brother. "She's okay. She did lose a lot of blood due to the laceration on her thigh, it was quite deep. We had to stitch it up." Sensing the next question that was about to come from both Halsteads, Connor pulled Will and Jay away from their friends. "She's agreed to a rape kit. Dr. Manning is with her right now."

Jay could feel his eyes burning with tears that were threatening to spill. Will had to support himself against the wall at the revelation that his baby sister had been violated...Dr. Rhodes reached out a hand to put on Will's shoulder, in support. He knew this couldn't be easy for the Halstead brothers to hear that their younger sister had been raped and they couldn't do anything to stop her from having the one thing that was truly hers to be taken away from her against her consent.

"She's okay, though?" Will finally spoke, his voice low and his eyes filled with tears.

"She's doing well considering," Connor replied sadly. "They should be finished by now. You can go and see her."

* * *

Will stopped just outside the room. He sighed, running a hand over his face. "I-I can't," he told Jay. "I can't push her."

Before Jay could say anything, Will walked away. Watching his brother go, Jay composed himself once again and walked into Mia's hospital room.

Mia was sitting up, her face tear-stained. Her eyes rimmed with tears, the haunted look never fading even when she saw her older brother walk in. She could see he was broken, yet holding on, for her; from the tortured look in his eyes, she knew he was placing all the blame on himself.

"Jay." A choked sob left Mia's mouth as her brother immediately wrapped her into a protective embrace. She buried her face into his strong shoulder and he felt her hand clench his t-shirt.

"God, Mia. I-I'm so sorry," Jay whispered in a strained voice. His Adam's apple bobbed up and down in his throat as he swallowed his tears, his grip on his little sister only tightening. "I...almost lost you, it's my fault."

Mia gripped onto Jay's t-shirt harder, her tears flowing freely. "This isn't your fault, Jay," she promised. Though she was evidently broken at the moment, her voice held more conviction than ever before. She knew Jay would blame himself, but she needed him to know, to see, that he couldn't do that to himself, it would just drive him crazy.

"It is," Jay replied. "I couldn't find you on time...I was a mess, Mia. I could have lost you because I didn't do my job well enough."

Mia knew he was referring to both his job as a cop and his job as her older brother and protector. Before she could say anything, the familiar voice cut across.

"He really was a mess, Mia."

Mia looked up and her eyes landed on Mouse, who looked a lot fitter than the last time she had seen him. A small smile played across her lips. "Mouse?"

He nodded, his eyes sad, but he knew his friend needed him to be strong for her right now. She needed the strength she wasn't feeling at the moment, she needed her friends and family more than ever, even if she didn't know it yet.

Jay stood up. "I'll be back," he promised, kissing Mia's head. As he passed by Mouse, he clapped his friend on the shoulder. "Coffee?"

"Oh yeah," Mouse agreed easily.

Jay nodded and left. Mouse moved forward and sat on the seat beside Mia's bed. He leaned forward and enveloped her into a hug, and she cried into his chest, holding onto him tightly, the memories of her torture flashing in her mind.

Mouse felt his heart breaking, and tears appeared in his own eyes. He had seen a lot of horrors in war, including rape, but when it happened to someone close to you, you never really realised how bad it could really be...How much it could impact you just knowing you weren't there to save someone you care about from such pain and trauma...His heart broke for Mia, and her sobs made him hold her tighter, his hand rubbing her back. No words could show her how sorry he was that he hadn't been able to track her down quicker, how sorry he was that he had gotten the wrong address, which had given Lucas more time to torture her.

"Mia," Mouse began, feeling her sobs subside a little. "I'm to blame."

"Mouse," Mia began, placing a hand to his chest. She stared into his blue eyes. "You came to New York for me, remember? You've always been there for me. This...this isn't on you, or Jay."

At that moment, Jay walked in, a strained smile on his face as he handed Mouse a coffee cup. " You never did say why you went to New York, Mouse."

Mia tried to say something, but Mouse shrugged. "You know I went after the Derek Keyes incident."

Jay was watching Mouse, but from the corner of his eye, he noticed Mia's body stiffen upon hearing the name. That was when he knew something was not right.

"Who-who's Derek Keyes?" Mia asked, biting her lower lip, the way she always did when she was uncomfortable.

Jay raised an eyebrow, but when Mia continued to look at him, he sighed, leaning back against the wall. "An undercover case gone wrong a few months back," he replied. "Doesn't really matter though. I was okay."

Mia's eyes glazed over, and knowing her like he did, Jay could tell at once that there was something she was hiding from him, something she knew that he didn't. Mia's eyes nervously flicked over to Mouse, who reached out a hand to squeeze her good leg gently.

Jay went over to Mia's other side. "I'm here, Mia," he reminded her. "I always will be."

"You weren't okay, Jay," Mia protested. "You weren't...Keyes went too far, he hurt you so badly."

Jay clenched his jaw, watching the tears roll down Mia's cheeks. "You were a cop too," he reminded her, his voice gentle. "You know it's possible for things to go south."

"You were hurt because of me, Jay! It's all my fault!"

Jay was taken aback by the outburst and he looked at Mouse, whose face was grim. "Mia...," Mouse began softly.

"No, you know it's true, Mouse, you know I'm to blame," Mia replied back, her chest heaving with sobs. Her cheeks were now wet, and her eyes still watery.

"You aren't making any sense, Mia," Jay confessed, sitting at the edge of her bed. "Talk to me."

"Mouse-" Mia choked back another sob, wrapping her arms around her own body. "He came to New York for me, I called him there. He came to reassure me that you really were okay and alive, that Erin had saved you."

Jay's blue eyes immediately rose to meet Mouse's. "How did you know what happened?" he asked his sister, his eyes still trained on his friend.

Mia shook her head, the sobs growing, and her shoulder heaving as she buried her face in her hands. The memory was still too vivid in her mind. The taser burns, the open wounds, the bruises...the blood. "I-I couldn't protect you, Jay," she barely whispered.

"That's not your job," Jay reassured her. "It's my job to protect you. It's what I promised Mom."

"Why won't you listen to me, Jay?" Mia looked at him, her eyes red and puffy now. "I want you to blame me, I want you to tell me it's my fault...It WAS my fault."

"I promise I'm listening," Jay responded, his heart hurting. It was killing him to see his sister so broken and traumatised, blaming herself for something he had no idea about. "But I can't do anything until you tell me what's the matter."

"You-you will never forgive me." Mia lowered her eyes, ashamed and unable to face her brother, believing that what she was about to say would forever ruin her relationship with Jay. Why shouldn't it? She was reason Keyes hurt Jay.

Jay pulled Mia to his body once again, and left a kiss on top of her head. "You know that's not possible, Mia," he comforted her. "I will ALWAYS forgive you and I will NEVER leave."

"You should," Mia whispered into his hard chest. "I could have gotten you killed!" She curled her fists in his t-shirt again, holding him closer, and closing her eyes, as if he would just disappear if she left him. "I saw it, Jay...I watched it. If only I had listened to Lucas."

Once again, Jay was stunned. He had hardly found his voice when Mia sighed, her face still buried in his chest. "I'm the reason Keyes tortured you like an animal. I should have just listened!"

Mouse stepped in, deciding Mia was traumatised as it was and didn't need to keep torturing herself more. "Lucas threatened her, telling her he would show her he meant business if she didn't keep delivering the 'merchandise', as he called it...She wanted out, wanted to stop bringing in those girls. She told him she would tell the cops. He promised to 'teach her a lesson' if she dared inform the cops. But she did anyway."

Jay felt Mia's body tense against his, and he could only rub her back to remind her he was still here, still alive. He clenched his jaw, his anger at Lucas only increasing with every passing second.

"Lucas and Keyes worked together, Jay," Mouse finally told his friend. "And Lucas showed Mia the video of Keyes torturing you."

Jay closed his eyes, finally understanding why Mia was blaming herself and why she had felt that Jay would not forgive. Although he did not blame her at all, he knew that telling her would be of no use, since she was so adamant to take all the blame on herself. For something that was not under her control. He was hurting for her, for what she had been through...He remembered when they were smaller and how she hated seeing him hurt, that much hadn't changed.

"Jay...don't leave me," Mia sobbed.

* * *

Mia lay on her side, asleep, while Jay and Mouse sat in silence. Jay was replaying everything he had just been told in his mind. He only felt his rage and hatred for Lucas grow with every passing microsecond. But he also felt sad that he hadn't been able to protect Mia, as he had promised her and their dying mother.

Just then, Will walked in. He checked the monitors that were tracking Mia's vitals and everything looked okay. But he knew that things were far from okay at the moment.

Mia's eyes opened right then. When she saw Will, she looked away.

"Mia," Will began.

"I don't want to talk," Mia responded abruptly, trying to burst into tears again.

Will was hurt, but he knew his sister had been through hell. He couldn't exactly blame her for not wanting to see him or talk to him. "Why won't you let me in?" he asked, his tone dripping with hurt and anxiety.

Mia raised her eyes to meet his. "I can't, Will," she told him. "It's too late."

Will shook his head. "It's not."

Tears rolling down her cheeks, Mia sat up, a little too fast because pain shot up her body. Gritting her teeth to keep from crying out in pain, Mia glared at Will, but her watery eyes gave it all away. "You were supposed to be my older brother, Will," she whispered, her voice so low that Jay, Mouse and Will had to strain their ears to hear her properly. "Where were you when I needed you the most?"

Jay's body tensed, unsure of what to expect next. Will looked incapacitated, his eyes full of pain. And Mouse simply held Mia's hand, giving her the comfort she needed. He felt Mia squeeze his hand, thanking him for his constant support.

"Mia-," Will choked. "I'm sorry."

"I don't know if i believe that," Mia confessed. "I trusted you, my older brother, to take care of me...Jay was fighting a war, and I needed you, Will. But the booze and the parties and the girls were more important to you than the fact that I was being...used by Lucas. Even if I came home beaten, or didn't even show up till the next morning, you didn't care...Not once did you ask me if I was okay. I was trying to earn the money you were wasting...and every night I paid the price, either mentally or physically. How can you expect me to forgive you for abandoning me? For never being there for me?"

By now, tears had come into Will's eyes, his past coming back to haunt him when Mia mentioned it. He hated the kind of person he had been back then and he had changed, but in the process, he had hurt his little sister, without even knowing it. And the guilt was eating him.

Jay looked at Will, his eyes full of anger. "You knew what Lucas was doing to her?"

Will avoided eye contact with Jay and remained silent. Jay stood up, immediately prompting Mouse to also stand up. He blocked Jay's path to Will. "Jay," Mouse warned. "Relax."

"Mouse, he knew," Jay replied heatedly, clenching his jaw. "He knew and he did NOTHING."

Mia grabbed Jay's hand. "Jay," she piped in. "I didn't mean to make you angry."

Jay glared right at Will but his body relaxed somewhat on hearing Mia's words. She still blamed herself, even for the littlest things. It was such a Halstead trait.

"You can be angry all you want, Jay," Will spoke up. "Just remember I'm not the one who left for war."

Mia's eyes widened at Will's words, but Jay raised an eyebrow at his brother. "I left to fight a war, I didn't abandon my sister," he replied back calmly.

"Will!" Mia jumped to Jay's defense. "You can't just turn it around on him. He's always been there for me."

"You want to blame me for all the booze and shit?" Will asked her. "You have NO idea about the things Jay did when he came back!"

Jay's face hardened, his eyes trained on Will. Mia looked between her brothers, unsure of what Will was talking about. Mouse turned on Will. "Don't," he warned the younger Halstead.

Will stepped around Mouse. "He did the same thing, Mia. He drowned himself in booze." With one last look at Jay, Will turned and walked out, still hurt by Mia's words but also now regretting his own.

* * *

The painkillers were making Mia lightheaded and groggy, so she hadn't realized when Hank Voight entered the room. He nodded at Jay and Mouse.

"Any update on Gilmore's whereabouts?" Jay asked, his voice grim and hard.

"We have nothing so far," Voight admitted. "No sign of him."

Mia wasn't surprised. Lucas had always been a master at hiding from the authorities, so Mia hadn't expected even the Intelligence Unit, who had the best Chicago cops in it, to find him that easily.

"He's good at laying low," Mia replied, keeping her voice level and strong. "Unless he slips up really badly, it's going to be a tough job to find him."

"We'll get him," Voight promised solemnly.

Jay sighed, shaking his head. "I should be out there helping." The frustration in his voice was evident and Hank detected the tense body language of his detective. He knew Mia didn't need to get more agitated so he nudged his head at Jay in the direction of the hallway.

"Halstead, a word," he replied.

Jay followed him outside. Mouse sat back beside Mia, immediately taking her hand in his again. He used his free hand to touch her cheek, his thumb running over the bruise from being struck by her kidnapper. He felt anger boiling in his chest at the knowledge that she had been hit.

"Mia," Mouse started off, his voice quiet.

Anticipating what was about to come next, Mia rubbed her thumb over Mouse's hand. "Please don't blame yourself, Mouse."

He looked into her eyes, seeing the honesty shining in them and he gave her a weak smile. "What kind of a boyfriend am I if I couldn't be there for you?"

Mia reached her other hand out to touch his cheek. "I'm here now, okay? I'm alive."

He nodded, but the pain behind his eyes told Mia he wasn't okay. She tightened her grip on his hand and leaned in towards him, pressing her lips to his. He kissed her back, his hands cupping her face gently, his thumb running over her cheekbones ever so lovingly.

"That's-what...Guys, really?" Jay groaned, covering his eyes with his hand.

Mouse and Mia immediately jumped apart, a sheepish smile on Mouse's face while Mia blushed red. "Jay!" she whined.

"So is this how you decided to tell me?" Jay pressed, his eyebrow raised as he looked at Mouse.

At first Mia thought he was being stern but when she looked at her brother, he had a smile on his face and a mischievous glint in his eyes. Mia felt her body relax and she looked to Mouse, who shrugged, a smirk appearing on his face as he turned to Jay.

"Do you usually just walk in to your sister making out with a guy?" Mouse teased.

Jay rolled his eyes. "I can't un-see THAT little episode," he admitted.

Mia shot him a sheepish smile. "Uh sorry," she mumbled.

Jay took a seat at the edge of his sister's bed.

"Look man-," Mouse started to say.

"You don't have to explain anything to me," Jay cut across his best friend. "Just don't hurt Mia, or you'll have me to deal with."

"Jay!" Mia whined softly, but she couldn't stop herself from the little smile that tugged at the corner of her lips; it warmed her heart to know how much Jay cared about her, to the extent that he would even threaten his own best friend, someone who was his brother in arms.

Jay kept his gaze on Mouse. "She may be a Halstead, but so am I . So if you ever hurt her-"

Mouse shook his head. "Jay, I promise you, I won't EVER hurt her."

Jay nodded once, seeing the pure honesty in his best friend's eyes and voice. He leaned forward and clapped a hand to his shoulder. "Then you and I won't have a problem," he winked.

Mia face-palmed while Mouse laughed. "God," she murmured, loud enough for both of them to hear.

* * *

Not more than fifteen minutes had passed when Hank Voight reappeared, pocketing his phone. He kept one hand in his pocket as he looked at Mia Halstead.

"I just got off the phone with Sergeant Benson," Voight started off. "Why didn't you tell us you had left your job?"

Mia shrugged. "Erin and Jay already knew...I guess with everything going on, I never really had the chance to say anything."

"Well, are you planning to stick around long? We got a spot open in Intelligence if you want it. We could certainly use a detective like you."

Mia looked at Jay, her eyes hopeful. "Is that okay with you, Jay?" she asked.

Jay nodded, a sincere and proud smile on his face. He patted his sister's good leg. "You know it is, Mia."

Elated with her brother's response, Mia turned back to Voight. "I accept the offer. Thank you."

Voight nodded. "Welcome to the Intelligence Unit, Detective Allyson."


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch6 is up, guys! Let me know your thoughts please! And once again, Mia, thank you for always being my saving grace!**

* * *

One Month Later

Jay, Mia and Erin were walking up the stairs to the bullpen. It had been a month since Mia had joined the Intelligence Unit, and she had proven herself to be one hell of a cop.

"I swear you weren't this bad before!" Mia complained, huffing loudly. "It's just a spoon, Jay!"

"Yeah, a spoon that was SUPPOSED to be in the sink! Not on the counter top!" Jay retorted.

Mia shook her head, chuckling. "Oh, grow up!"

"It was bad enough with Erin doing it! Now with the two of you?"

"HEY!" Erin butted in, smirking. "What would you rather have? A teaspoon on the side or having to wash another one every time we use it?"

"Nice, Erin!" Mia held a hand out and Erin high-fived her. Jay rolled his eyes at them.

"God, you guys enjoy ganging up on me, don't you?" Jay remarked as they entered the bullpen.

"Us girls gotta stick together, you know," Erin shrugged, winking over at Mia, who laughed again.

"Jay, get used to it!" Mia grinned as she made her way past his desk and into the break room. She found Adam already there.

"Oh hey," Adam smiled, handing her a mug of freshly brewed black coffee.

Mia raised an eyebrow at him, looking down at the mug then back up at Ruzek. She held the mug and placed her free hand on her hip. "Okay, Adam. What are you after?"

Adam feigned an offended expression. "What! Can't a guy give his partner a coffee?"

Mia laughed, shaking her head and turning. She held her mug up in the air as she walked off. "Thanks for the coffee, Ruzek, but you'll still never get a date with me!"

Adam rushed after her, his own mug in his hand. "Oh come on, Mia! What's a guy gotta do to get a date with you!" He was half-joking, but he still always wondered why his charm wasn't working on Mia Halstead.

Kevin chuckled at Adam's lost puppy expression. "Isn't this the fifth time you've asked the poor girl?" he asked Adam.

Mia sat at her desk, taking a sip of her coffee. "Seventh, actually. But who's counting!"

From his old desk, Mouse laughed, shaking his head as he smiled his usual dimpled smile. Mia found herself wanting to faint at the sight of his dimples, which she loved so much.

Jay, who was leaning against his desk, raised an eyebrow at Adam. "Watch it, Ruzek. That's my baby sister you're hitting on."

Mia laughed, sending Adam an innocent smile. "Well, look at that, Adam. You've triggered the protective big brother. It was nice knowing you!"

Erin, Jay, Mouse and Kevin laughed while Adam looked like a lost baby, his eyes never leaving Jay as he sat at his desk opposite Mia, but right beside Jay. _Oh God help me_ , Adam silently thought.

Alvin and Hank walked in, looking grim. "We caught a case," Voight announced. "Suit up, we're going to 17th Roger's Hill."

* * *

"Hey, I wanna drive for once!" Adam whined, as Mia skipped towards their car and hopped into the driver's seat.

"In your dreams, Ruzek! Now get in!" Mia ordered.

Adam huffed disappointedly as he opened the passenger door and hopped into the seat. "This is so not fair," he mumbled unhappily.

"You snooze, you lose, bro!" Mia laughed as she gunned the engine and stepped on the accelerator.

The team reached the crime scene in ten minutes, and the responding officers led them to the alleyway in which the body was found, now covered with a cloth.

"Our victim was raped," Voight informed as he stepped beside Mia, who had now crouched down beside the covered body.

"Do we have an ID?" Erin asked.

"Not yet," Voight replied.

Mia pulled back the sheet and gasped. "No, we have an ID alright," she sighed. The body was covered in torture marks, and the eyes still open, but Mia recognized that face any day. "Her name is- I mean was - Sharon Cutter. She and I went to high school together."

Erin placed a supportive hand on Mia's shoulder. Voight nodded grimly. "Any ex-boyfriends you know of who would want to take revenge on her?"

Mia sighed. "Not unless you want to take my brother into questioning."

"You mean, Will?" Olinsky asked.

Jay spoke up. "No. Actually, she means me. We were-"

"They were a thing. It was horrible to watch!" Mia commented.

Voight rubbed his chin. "Well, we need to find the son of bitch that did this. We work all night if we have to."

The team nodded in silent agreement.

* * *

Back at the precinct, Mia stuck a picture of Sharon Cutter on the briefing board. Beneath the picture was written: _Sharon Cutter, 28. Raped and murdered. Lawyer._

"What do we know about Cutter?" Voight asked Mia.

Mia rubbed her forehead tiredly. Seeing Sharon's body that way was taking a toll on her. But she needed to push her emotions behind and act like she was okay. "Well, she was a track star in high school, always got the top grades, had many boys who wanted to sleep with her but she only had her eye on Jay. Last I heard, she had gotten a job at the States Attorney Office."

"Isn't that where Antonio works now?" Adam inquired, flicking his pen against his lips as he looked over at Voight.

"He's the DA investigator there," Voight replied. He turned to look at the Halstead siblings. "Halstead, you and Mia go meet Antonio. He would also be investigating into this, so let's see what he's got, if anything."

"Alright." Jay grabbed his jacket from behind his hair, gesturing for Mia to follow him. Mia grabbed her own jacket and followed her brother out of the precinct. He got into the driver's seat and gunned the engine as she buckled her seatbelt.

They reached the States Attorney Office in less than ten minutes and met DA Investigator Antonio Dawson in his office. He had formerly been Jay's colleague in the Intelligence Unit till he had been promoted to his current job, and he had known Jay since before Jay had been deployed to Afghanistan. So he was also an old friend of Mia's.

Antonio greeted both his friends with hug, but his hug with Mia lasted longer. He had missed the youngest Halstead when she was in New York, and she hadn't returned to Chicago in the seven years she had been gone.

"Nice to see you back in Chicago, Mia," Antonio smiled, as he sat back behind his desk and Jay and Mia sat opposite him.

"Trust me, it's great to be back," Mia smiled back.

"Congratulations on getting into Intelligence by the way!" Antonio remembered suddenly. "I hear you're giving Jay a run for his money there!"

Jay groaned. "Tony, not you too!"

Mia laughed, leaning forward to high-five her long-time friend, who had always been like another brother to her, at least more than Will had been.

Finally, when everything had quietened, Antonio turned serious, as did Mia and Jay. "So you knew Sharon?" he asked them.

Mia nodded. "She was in my batch during high school, we were friends. She slept with Jay a couple times too."

Antonio raised an eyebrow at Jay, who shrugged it off. "Let's not get into that," Jay protested, sending a glare in Mia's direction. Mia couldn't help but give Antonio a wink.

"Has Sharon Cutter had any clients or cases gone wrong? Someone who would want to hurt her? Or anyone charged with assault?" Jay asked his friend.

"Well I don't particularly think so," Antonio replied. "I didn't know her very well, but she was one hell of a lawyer. Let me check her files though." He stood up and went to the file cabinet beside his desk. He pulled out a file and sat back at his desk. Opening it up, he started to rifle through all the papers. "Aha! Yes. Paul Cannard." He pushed a picture of a bald man, in his fifties, with cold gray eyes.

"Great," Mia nodded. "You got an address for this asshole?"

Antonio grinned. "Sure do. It's 118 West Lake."

"Thanks, man, we appreciate it." Jay stood and shook Antonio's hand. Mia went to hug her friend again and the two siblings turned to leave, when Antonio spoke again.

"We need to catch up. How about Molly's tonight? The three of us?" Antonio asked hopefully.

"Sure," Mia and Jay both agreed.

* * *

Jay and Mia informed the team about Paul Cannard and gave them the address Antonio had given them.

"Let's hit it," Voight ordered.

Everyone headed down the garage where they all put on their bulletproof vests, ear comms and loaded their weapons before jumping into their vehicles. Once again, Mia took the wheel, much to Adam's dismay.

Upon reaching their destination, everyone immediately got out of their vehicles, weapons drawn as they headed up the stairs to the door. Atwater and Olinsky headed round the back with Voight while Jay, Erin, Adam and Mia were stationed at the front door.

Erin nodded at Jay, her two hands wrapped around her weapon, and held to her side. Jay clenched one hand and rapped loudly on the door. "Paul Cannard, Chicago PD! Open up!" he commanded.

Nobody answered.

"Breach it," Voight ordered over the ear comm.

Jay turned towards the door and kicked it down smoothly. Erin and him entered first, with Adam and Mia right behind. They each moved in sync to clear each room. Finally Voight ordered the team to clear it up.

Disappointed at the outcome, Mia headed back to the car and they all drove back to the district. Up in the bullpen, Mia made her way straight to the break room to get some coffee. Mouse followed behind. The look of disappointment on his girlfriend's face had not gone unnoticed by him.

"Mia, you okay?" Mouse asked, as she poured herself some black coffee.

She sighed. "I'm good, Mouse." She raised her eyes to meet his. "Just wish we could have caught the guy."

"We will, babe, I promise," Mouse reassured her, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

Just as she was about to ask him how he could even promise her such a thing, Voight showed up. "There's a positive ID on Cannard, we need to roll out now, Allyson."

Mia nodded once, immediately putting down her mug of coffee. Mouse held her arm as she was walking out. "Be careful, Mia. Please."

"I will," she nodded, quickly kissing his cheek before running out.

* * *

Mia stopped her car instantly, and drew her weapon as her and Adam approached the suspect, who was getting ready to jump off the bridge.

"Paul Cannard! Chicago PD! Step away from the bridge!" Voight ordered.

Cannard turned around to look at all the police, his eyes moving restlessly between them all. He spotted their weapons and his body shook. "STAY AWAY!" he bellowed.

Mia frowned, watching his body shake violently. He was nervous.

"Sarge," Mia began, talking into her radio in a low voice. "We need to lower our weapons. He's nervous. If he jumps, we lose our only lead on this case."

"Okay," Voight agreed. "Lower your weapons."

Mia holstered her gun and raised her hands, slowly advancing towards the suspect. "Paul? I'm Detective Mia Allyson. We just want to talk, okay? So can you please step away from the bridge?"

Paul eyed Mia up and down, his eyes narrowing. "I don't trust the police," he scoffed, suddenly confident.

Mia nodded. "Okay okay...But I promise, we just want to talk. But you'll need to come with us down to the district." She was getting closer to him, close enough to yank him away from the edge. She just needed to have accurate timing.

Everything happened too fast. The minute Mia was in arm's length of Cannard, he grabbed her by the t-shirt and dragged her off the bridge, into the water. She flailed her arms, gasping as she tried to keep her head above the water, but her head was dunked back in.

Jay moved with lightning speed and dived into the water behind his sister. He swam over to her sinking body, and immediately wrapped a strong arm around her chest. He elevated her head above the water and with a few one-handed strokes, he reached the shore, his clothes all drenched as well as his hair.

Mia was shivering, and coughing out water. Jay helped her sit up and held her close to him. The team ran up to them immediately.

"You both okay?" Voight asked.

Mia nodded. "Yes Sarge."

"Head back to the district, we've got Cannard," he finally replied after making sure Mia really was alright.

Erin stepped beside Jay. "Jay, she couldn't swim," she whispered.

He nodded. But he was confused. He knew she had learned how to swim, mainly since he had been the one to teach her how to swim. Right now though, what mattered most was that Mia was okay and she needed to get changed quickly before she caught pneumonia or hypothermia.

Jay led her to his and Erin's vehicle and took the wheel. He immediately drove back to the district. As they climbed up the stairs, Jay's mind kept wandering back to the scene, and how Mia had been unable to swim. He had to get to the bottom of this too.

"MIA!" Mouse was there by Mia's side, worriedly checking her over to see if she had any injuries.

"Mouse, I'm okay," she assured him, tiredly. "Just need to get changed." She walked off, heading into the locker room. She opened her locker and took out her duffel bag. She grabbed a change of clothing and went to change in the bathroom.

By the time she was done, she replaced her duffel bag in her locker and went back outside. There was conversation going on and she strained her ears to listen as she leaned against her desk.

"Mia, you good?" Erin asked worriedly.

"I'm fine," Mia responded once again. She was getting fed up of people asking her the same old question now.

"Well, then, I suppose you would be happy to know, we got a clean confession from Cannard," Voight informed his detective. "He admitted to having gone to see Cutter about representing him at a trail, he was accusing his brother of stealing his share of inheritance from their late father. When she gave him her price, he was shocked, didn't have enough. Cutter considered lowering it slightly but they had to discuss how much lower she would go. They met up multiple times, and on a couple occasions, they slept together. Cutter then caught onto his game, he was coaxing into bed to get her to lower her price by a huge margin and when she refused to even represent him at trial, he found her and tortured her before raping her."

Mia nodded grimly. "Thank you, Sarge."

Voight stepped forward and clapped her on the shoulder gently. "Good work, Allyson."

She nodded once, a half-smile popping up on her lips for a brief moment.

"Well then, glad that's over," Adam piped up, putting on his jacket. "When you fall into bed with a rapist, no shit you're gonna get raped."

Mia bit on her lower lip, trying to keep herself from crying. Finally she knew she couldn't hold it in. She pushed herself from the desk and walked into the locker room, purposefully shouldering Adam roughly as she walked past him.

Jay clenched his jaw, stepping towards Adam. "Yeah and what's worse are the people who talk rape down. Maybe instead of acting like an uncaring asshole, you should learn to be better back-up. Last warning, Ruzek, watch your goddamn mouth." His voice angry, his eyes glaring, Jay shoved past Adam , who had a look of utter surprise his face as he watched Jay follow Mia.

Mia leaned against the lockers, tears clouding her vision. Jay's voice made her jump.

"June 13th," he remembered, softly.

"Jay-," Mia tried.

Jay ignored her, stepping closer and saying, "June 13th, 1994. I taught you how to swim that day. I remember because it was Dad's birthday and we both wanted to get out of the house and you asked me to teach you."

Mia let out a choked sob, covering her face. Jay pulled her closer and held her tight. "Mia, what happened out there?"

Mia's voice shook. "He-he didn't deserve the easy way out, Jay. He deserved to pay for what he did to Sharon."

"I know, I understand that, Mia," Jay told her.

"No, you don't, Jay...You don't."

Her words stung him a little, but he pushed away his pride and hurt, and waited for her to continue. Mia's shoulders heaved as she tried to control her sobs.

"That's why I went after him."

"But the water? What happened there, Mia? I've never seen you panic like that before."

She took a deep breath, steeling herself. "There was a case in New York..." She pushed herself away from Jay and paced the locker room, trying to find the words she could use to explain to Jay what had happened.

"A case?" Jay tried to keep his tone light to shift the mood in the atmosphere. It used to work when Mia was a child, but right now he could see the hurt in her features.

Mia nodded. "It was a drug ring. They used kids to push the drugs, and they, uhm-they hurt them. Bad." Mia sighed, rubbing her forehead. "We were ready, Jay. There was a plan. Nothing could go wrong."

Jay's jaw hardened, knowing that her tone suggested something had indeed gone wrong.

"My partner and I, we were ready to get to leader. But, he must've had contacts in the inside. It was..." She stopped, hesitating a little.

"What happened, Mia?" Jay repeated, his voice quiet.

"He should've had my back."

"Who?"

"My partner." Mia shook her head, leaning against the locker again. "I got out of the car."

Jay sighed, knowing Mia had gone against direct orders.

"There were kids' lives at risk, Jay!" Mia argued, knowing exactly what her older brother was thinking.

"Mia, tell me what happened," Jay demanded.

"We were at the docks, by the river. I should've had cover!" Mia closed her eyes briefly and opened them again, breathing deeply. "He came out of nowhere, Jay. I had no cover and there was a struggle. Something or someone hit me, knocked me out...I woke up, feeling cold. My body was freezing and my hands were tied together."

Jay could sense Mia was hurting, reminiscing it all. He tried to move closer to her again but she held a hand out to stop him, not feeling deserving of his comfort, not when she had failed to protect herself.

"I was-I was in the water," she continued, swallowing her tears. It was a private dock, so nobody was around to help me. And I couldn't help myself all tied up...I could swim, Jay, I know I could. Like a fairy." She chuckled slightly, recalling how Jay had taught her how to tread water.

By now, Jay had tears in his eyes, watching his sister, all pale and hurting and broken so much that he was scared nothing could fix her again. She had gone through so much, and every time she told him something new, he hated himself more for not being able to protect her innocence and happiness they way he had promised their mother on her deathbed he would.

"Mia," Jay choked, "please."

Mia gulped, sliding down onto the floor, back against the locker. Jay crouched in front of her.

"I should've been able to swim, but, my hands-."

"Mia," Jay cut her off sadly. "What happened?"

"I didn't expect it. I wasn't holding my breath, Jay. I was so stupid...My head, they just pushed me under...I couldn't breathe." She was crying again. "I was drowning. Everything you taught me, I could no longer do it."

"Hey, you're okay now." Jay felt a tear roll down his cheek.

Mia shook her head. "What if you weren't there, Jay?"

"Hey, I'll always be there, you know that, Mia."

"It could've easily been me," Mia went on, ignoring his comment.

"Who?"

"He could've killed me."

"Mia, who?"

Mia looked at Jay. "Lucas." She bowed her head into her arms. "I could've been Sharon right now."

"But you're not, you're here...You're safe, Mia. And I'm here." Jay pulled her closer and she leaned into his body, crying. He let her sob into his shoulder, and he rubbed her back gently. "I'll protect you while I'm here, I promise. You're safe."

After another five minutes of crying, Mia wiped her tears, pulling away slightly from her brother. Jay nudged her shoulder lightly.

"Come on, we promised Antonio a drink," he reminded her. "You know how he gets when he's deprived of us Halsteads."

Mia smiled through her tears. "Yeah, we definitely need a drink right now."


	7. Chapter 7

**Ch7 is here guys! Thank you for the continued support and love, I appreciate it so much! Mia, as always, you deserve the BIGGEST shoutout for being there for me, always! Don't forget to review pls! Enjoy!**

* * *

 _*Flashback*_

 _"Control was MY thing! I'm the man here! You're just a weak little bitch!" Lucas spat, grabbing Mia by the hair and throwing her onto the floor roughly. She collapsed with a cry of pain, her head hitting the side of the table as she fell._

 _"L-Lucas, please," Mia cried, blood clouding her vision._

 _Lucas laughed maliciously, watching as Mia struggled to get up, only to have him kick her back down again, his boot connecting with her chest, breaking two ribs in the process. Mia screamed, the pain radiating all over her body. She weakly tried to wrap her arms around her ribs but Lucas only pulled her back up to her feet, slamming her back into the wall, causing her to see stars once again. She was sobbing, the pain unbearable, her body aching and her eyes watering._

 _"You lost, Mia," Lucas mocked. "You always lose. And I'm gonna make sure you remember that for the rest of your pathetic little life!" He drew his knife, its blade sharp and shiny in the dim light of the basement in New York._

 _"You can never escape me, Mia, and whenever you look at this mark, you'll remember how I won and how you lost, and how I was the dominant one, how I am the one in control." Lucas stuck the blade mercilessly into Mia's stomach, a cry of pain escaping her lips as he dragged the blade over her exposed stomach roughly, enjoying the sight of her blood spilling out and her cracked sobs of pain. He gripped her neck, pressing her against the wall, shoving his blade into her stomach deeper, making sure to scar her so that she would always remember how she was at his mercy, forever his prisoner, and how he had proven to be stronger._

 _*End of Flashback*_

Mia woke up in cold sweat, her breathing deep and panicked. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths to calm her heartbeat down. Opening her blue eyes once again, she reached over to unlock her phone. It was 5:30am.

Mia rubbed the sleep from her eyes and threw off her blanket. Maybe going for a run would take her mind off the nightmare she had just woken up from. She quickly freshened up and changed into her exercise gear, tying her hair up into a high ponytail.

Grabbing her phone and earphones, Mia quietly left the apartment and began her jog. Once again she decided she would run in Hyde Park, but this time, she hoped no drunken men were around. There was light breeze blowing this early in the morning in Chicago and Mia couldn't say she wasn't enjoying the cool air on her face. She just wished she could forget the past, and move on.

But every time she felt like she was making progress, something happened to pull her right back to where she had begun. At first, she had thought coming back to Chicago could help her move on from everything that had happened in New York. That feeling had lasted all but one day, until Lucas had kidnapped her.

She went around telling everyone she was fine, she wasn't too affected by the ordeal. Lucas may have had his way with her while she was in his captivity, but she was alive and okay, and now she had a whole team who would always watch her back, especially Jay. He would always look out for her, she knew. And truth be told, as much as she enjoyed giving him grief about being the "protective older brother", she wasn't about to lie: she was glad to have Jay watch her back and protect her but she knew she needed to do the same for him, now more than ever since Lucas was still in the wind.

By the time Mia was done with her jog, it was 7:00am. She needed to shower before work. She hurriedly headed back to the apartment and showered very quickly, before drying her hair and heading to the kitchen.

She found Erin already there, boiling the hot water for coffee.

"Morning, Erin," Mia greeted, grabbing a mug from the cabinet.

"Morning, Mia," Erin smiled, as she turned off the boiling water and poured herself some coffee. She poured some for Mia as well.

"Thanks," Mia grinned. "Where's Jay?"

"He got into the shower ten minutes ago," Erin replied, sitting at the table. Mia followed, taking a sip of her black coffee. "So I have a question. Why do you drink black coffee?"

Mia shrugged. "Guess I've always had a problem with milk and cream. Never seems to sit well in my stomach."

"From childhood?"

"Yeah, you could say that. I only started to understand it when I was a teenager, but I always had the problem from childhood, yeah."

Just then, Jay walked in, his hair wet from the shower. He grabbed himself a mug and poured some coffee for himself before taking a seat beside Erin. He seemed a little off, but Mia took that as a sign that he was maybe still tired.

Mia glanced over at the counter top and saw the spoon lying there beside the kettle of hot water. A smirk played across her lips as she moved her eyes back to her brother. Raising an eyebrow in mock surprise, she teased, "Not gonna give us grief about the spoon today, Jay?"

Jay shook his head. "Not today," came his simple reply.

Mia frowned, unsure of what to think, but knowing that something was wrong. Jay would NEVER miss a chance to annoy her about her messy nature. Being in the military had taught him to be neat and tidy and to appreciate cleanliness, whereas for Mia, the opposite applied.

Apparently, Erin had noticed too. She glanced at Mia with a worried look, before reaching out to touch Jay's hand, which was holding his mug. "Jay, is everything okay?" Erin inquired softly, rubbing soft circles on his hand.

"Yeah, everything's okay," Jay responded, drinking his coffee.

Mia could tell at once that he was lying. Jay definitely wasn't okay. She just couldn't figure out why he was acting different today or what was bothering him. "Jay," she tried only to be cut off by his mobile ringing.

Jay took his mobile from his pocket, glancing at the caller ID before swiping the answer bar. Mia watched as he listened to the caller on the other end, his eyes and face hardening as he clenched his jaw. Finally he said, "Okay, I'm coming."

Once he had hung up the phone, Mia and Erin exchanged puzzled glances. Who had he been talking to? And why had he looked so angry?

"Who was it?" Erin asked her boyfriend, placing her hand back on his bicep.

Though he felt somewhat comforted at her touch, he knew right now, things were not okay. He couldn't drag her into this. "Just a CI of mine," he responded effortlessly as he finished up his coffee. "Thinks he has a lead."

"A new case?" Mia grilled.

"Yeah." Jay stood up, glancing at his wrist watch. "I gotta go. I'll see you guys at the district." He leaned towards Erin and kissed her gently on the lips before walking around to hug Mia.

"Jay?" Mia stopped him as he turned to leave.

"Yeah?" He turned back around.

Mia stood up, biting her lower lip. "I didn't say this yesterday...Thank you for jumping in to save me."

Jay smiled, wrapping an arm around his little sister and hugging her again. "You never have to thank me, Mia."

Mia nodded. She pulled away and patted his rock-hard, muscled chest gently, a small smile on her lips. "Be careful, Jay."

"I'll be fine," he assured her before turning again and leaving.

But despite his words which would normally be so reassuring to Mia, this one time she couldn't shake the feeling she had: something was not right.

* * *

Jay stopped his car by the docks near Chicago River, the very same place he had stood up to Voight and prevented his boss from killing Pulpo. Jay got out of his car, keeping a hand ready on his gun which was holstered to his hip. His detective instincts were on high alert but he knew he needed to see this potential lead first and verify it before taking it to Voight.

His CI, Dante, stepped out from the shady alleyway.

"Got you the lead," Dante commented, waving a folded paper in his hand.

"Show me," Jay ordered firmly.

"Where's my cash?"

"Don't screw around with me, Dante. Give me the paper. If it's worth it, I'll give you your damn cash. You have my word."

"Come on, man! Have I ever let you down before?" Dante whined.

Jay raised an eyebrow at his CI, his hand gripping the butt of his gun. "I'm not in the mood to play games right now."

A different voice suddenly spoke up. "Why so moody, Detective Halstead?"

Jay spun around, only to find himself looking down the barrel of a gun, whose owner happened to be none other than Lucas Gilmore. Jay reached back to pull out his own weapon but Lucas cocked his own gun, effectively making Jay freeze mid motion.

"No no no," Lucas clucked his tongue impatiently. "Dare to draw your weapon, Halstead, and I won't hesitate to kill you."

Jay kept his eyes trained on Lucas as he slowly raised his hands in the air, his jaw muscles jumping as he glared at the bastard in front of him. Lucas just smirked triumphantly.

"Good work getting him here, Dante," Lucas praised the CI. "Now get him tied up." He turned his gaze back on Jay, his malicious grin only widening. "We have A LOT to talk about, Detective Halstead."

"You can go to hell if you think I want to listen to anything you have to say," Jay shot back angrily.

Dante grabbed Jay's hands and tied them behind his back before taking Jay's gun and then patting him down to see if he had any hidden mics or weapons. Lucas laughed, shoving Jay in front of him, keeping his gun trained against Jay's spine.

"Let's go, Halstead."

* * *

Mia was pacing the bullpen, constantly rubbing her forehead worriedly. Erin was sitting at her desk, elbows on the table, her chin in her hands, her eyes reflecting her anxiety. It had been two hours and there was no sign of Jay. Whenever they called his mobile, it would ring for a couple seconds before being directed to his voicemail.

Hank stepped out from his office. "Where the hell is Halstead?" he asked, watching both his female detectives jump at the sound of his gruff voice.

"We've been trying his cell for two hours now, Voight," Erin informed him. "It just sends us straight to his voicemail after a couple of rings."

"Sarge, he's in trouble," Mia said, her eyes worried. "He went to meet his CI. That's all we know."

Voight nodded, turning to Kevin immediately. "Atwater, go inform Sergeant Platt to send out a DOA. Tell her Halstead is missing and we need all available officers everywhere looking for him."

Atwater nodded. "On it, Sarge." He got up from his desk and headed down the stairs.

Erin rubbed her chin thoughtfully. No matter how worried she was for her boyfriend, she needed to keep her head on straight and think clearly. It was called being professional. "Okay, we know Jay went to meet his CI. We just don't know who the CI is. Why haven't we checked all his CI files again? There could be something there we've missed."

Mia nodded. "We should." She turned on Mouse, her eyes pleading and full of worry. "Mouse, please, ping his phone. We need a location."

Mouse nodded once, typing away on his keyboard. "On it." After another minute of rapidly typing, Mouse gave a victorious, "Got it! The signal is coming from Chicago River!"

"Let's roll," Voight ordered.

Mia hopped into her vehicle, Ruzek jumping into the passenger seat, this time without any complaint. He knew his partner wasn't in the mood for any whining from him. And he knew that finding Jay was much more important than his pride or ego.

In twenty minutes, the team reached the Chicago River. They spread out and began scouting the area, leaving no stone unturned in search of one of their own.

"Found his phone and gun!" Ruzek called out.

Mia and Erin looked at each other frantically before racing to where Ruzek stood. Mia's heart dropped when she saw her brother's phone and gun lying on the floor. He had been here, but now there was no sign of him. With tears threatening to spill, Mia turned and kicked a stone into the river in frustration.

"Mia hey!" Adam appeared beside her. "We're going to find Jay."

Mia stayed silent, pursing her lips together to keep herself from crying. She watched Adam scan the area and his eyes landed across the street.

"Sarge, we got a security camera right across the street," Adam pointed out.

"You and Atwater get access to the footage," Voight ordered. "Lindsay, bag Halstead's cell and gun. We're going back to the district."

Erin nodded silently but even she had tears threatening to spill and she needed to find a way to keep them back. To keep her emotions in check. She could NOT fail now. Not when Jay needed her the most.

* * *

Back at the district, Kevin and Adam returned shortly after everyone else had arrived.

"We got registration to the footage, Sarge," Kevin reported.

"Mouse, start tracing it," Voight commanded, standing at Mouse's desk. Mia stood behind Mouse, arms crossed, biting on her lower lip as she watched her boyfriend work efficiently. She kept blinking away her tears and swallowing all the horrible thoughts of the endless possibilities of what could have happened to her brother.

"Okay, this footage shows a car, a black SUV leaving the scene...I traced the number plate of the vehicle. Comes back hot to a company called-." He barely glanced back at Mia before continuing. "It's an architecture company called 'Gilmore and Peters'."

Mia stiffened, her eyes widening only a little before she regained her usual composure. She recognized the name of that company any day. "Oh shit," she mumbled.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"When I was a cop in the NYPD, we came across this company many times," Mia explained, keeping her face straight to avoid giving away any hints that she had been too personally invested in the company. "My partner and I, we kept tabs on them. They use the 'architecture' part of the company as a cover up for their real job: sex trafficking. Led by Lucas Gilmore." His name felt like poison on her tongue and made her blood boil. If Lucas had Jay, Mia needed to get to Jay fast.

"Do you think this Gilmore dude kidnapped Jay?" Adam asked.

"Certainly looks like it," Alvin agreed grimly. His words hit Mia and she struggled to keep her composure, blinking back any tears and once again, replacing the worried look in her eyes with an intense fire that wouldn't die until she had her brother back, alive and safe.

Voight ran a hand across his forehead, thinking. "Looks like everything is leading straight back to Gilmore." Looking at Atwater and Ruzek, Voight continued. "You two go see if Lucas actually had any business in Chicago and check to see if any man matching his description has checked into any hotels recently. Work fast. We don't stop until we get Halstead back, alive. Understood?"

Everyone nodded in agreement, not needing to be told twice. Jay was their brother, their family, and they would be damned if they didn't work their asses off to find him or do whatever it took to get him back.

"Allyson, a word," Voight said, gesturing to his office.

Mia moved from behind Mouse and followed her boss into his office. He closed the door behind her, placing a hand in his pocket as he walked to his desk and leaned against it.

"We're not giving up till we get him back, Mia," Hank assured her. "Halstead's been part of this family for a long time now, and he's one of the best detectives here. He's good police and so are you. We're gonna find him."

"Sarge, I appreciate that," Mia nodded. "I just know how these things can turn out...I don't want to get my hopes up."

Voight looked at the younger Halstead and sighed. "Kid, having hope isn't a bad thing...Sometimes, it's the only thing that keeps us going. Don't give up on Jay."

Just as Mia was about to respond, Erin opened the door. "Sorry to interrupt but the Chief's here."

Mia and Voight stepped out of the office and Chief Lugo stood there, arms crossed, a stern expression on his face. "You can't work this case. It's too personal," Chief Lugo stated gravely.

Voight shook his head, jaw clenched. "One of our own has been taken and that's PRECISELY the reason we need to work this case. You and I both know Intelligence is the only unit out there qualified enough to get Detective Halstead back safely."

Erin stepped forward. "Chief Lugo, with all due respect, we worked a similar case a couple months back when Detective Halstead had been abducted in a undercover operation gone wrong. WE got him out of there alive. So, there's no way in HELL you're taking this case from us, when WE'RE the ones who can get him back alive again."

Chief Lugo scanned all the determined and stern expressions in front of him. "Alright," he agreed. Pointing a finger at Voight, he added, "You have forty-eight hours to find Detective Halstead." With that, he turned around and departed.

Voight let out a sigh when his mobile started ringing. Seeing it was Ruzek, he put the call on speaker mode.

"Sarge," Ruzek's voice came across the line. "We got a positive ID on Lucas leaving the South Chicago City Hotel. He's heading towards the new apartment buildings being built across the Chicago River."

* * *

Jay was tied up, arms behind his back, the rope rubbing raw against his wrists. His head and lip were bleeding, and he could hardly see anything at the moment. His body ached, and he was sure Lucas had drugged him with something.

Lucas punched Jay for the fun of it, to get him to focus on Lucas. An evil smirk spread across Lucas's lips.

"Bet your baby sister didn't tell you much of what happened in New York, now did she, Halstead?" Lucas taunted, his words cutting like ice.

Jay kept his calm, not wanting to give the son of a bitch the satisfaction. "She told me enough," he replied, his voice low.

"Did she tell you then, how she LET me use her? How she stated getting cocky about everything? How she thought she could one up me? And how, when I was punishing her, she would beg for you to help her, but you weren't there, were you now, Jay? You were here, falling into bed with your sexy ass partner."

Jay clenched his jaw, his eyes blazing angrily. "You can't touch Mia now. She's got the entire unit backing her up and she's safe. No matter what you do to me, I know you can't lay even a finger on her anymore."

Lucas chuckled, shaking his head, leaning against the wall opposite the CPD detective. "I've had people watching her, stalking her, ever since she returned to Chicago. I warned her I would ALWAYS find her, no matter where she ran."

Despite being tied up tightly, Jay still tried to lunge at Lucas. The anger and rage he felt towards the criminal was consuming him, and he needed to get himself free so he could give the bastard hell. For everything he had put Mia through.

Lucas scoffed at Jay's futile attempt, enjoying how his words were effecting the detective. "You know," Lucas went on, idly. "Speaking of that sexy partner of yours, Erin Lindsay right?"

"Don't you dare touch her!" Jay threatened, the thought of Lucas hurting Erin in any way making him angrier than he had ever been.

Lucas raised his hands in mock surrender, his malicious laugh echoing around the basement. "Oh, I haven't touched her yet, Halstead. But I might...Hmm, I bet I could have a lot of FUN with her." Lucas turned around, heading for a box kept at the side of the room. He opened and pulled out some photographs.

A triumphant, evil smirk on his lips, he returned back to Jay, who was still glaring at the sick man in front of him. "Here, I think you'll just LOVE these little pictures I have of your girlfriend," Lucas continued to torment Jay. He threw down the pictures in his hand.

Jay was seeing red when his eyes landed on the compromising pictures of Erin.

"That body of hers, I could use that to my advantage...She'd get me a hell lot of money for the right price," Lucas grinned. He leaned back against the wall, watching Jay get angrier by the second. "I bet I could find you girls who are better in bed than she is though. I've known a lot, and that includes Mia."

"I swear to God you won't get away with this," Jay promised angrily.

Lucas shrugged, walking around Jay before once again, stopping right in front of him. "You know, Mia loved me. She actually did, and there was a time I genuinely loved her too. I cared a lot about her. But there came a time where she started to defy me, to question me, even rebelled against me."

"Can't say I blame her. She's happier now without you and she's moved on," Jay retorted sassily.

Now it was Lucas's turn to explode. Jay watched in satisfaction as Lucas turned red, his eyes wild and his brow furrowing in anger. Lucas whipped out his gun, slamming the butt of it against Jay's collarbone.

Jay groaned in pain, as Lucas grabbed his hair roughly, pulling his head back. "If you wanna get smart with me, Halstead, you're gonna pay for it badly."

"If you think I give a damn about what you do to me, you're sorely mistaken," Jay shot back.

Lucas's nostrils flared, and he aimed the gun at the detective. He fired one shot.

Jay felt the bullet hit him in the stomach, and he held back a cry of pain. Instead, his eyes never left Lucas as he stepped forward, his face level with Jay's. "You better hope you friends get here on time, Halstead. Otherwise, I guess you'll just abandon you sister, for good this time."

Clenching his jaw in pain and gritting his teeth to prevent him from giving in to the pain, Jay spoke out. "When my team finds you, all hell will break loose. You're a sick ass son of a bitch. I wouldn't celebrate yet if I were you."

Lucas spun back around, viciously jabbing the muzzle of the gun into Jay's open wound, eliciting a cry of pain from the detective, which was music to his ears. He placed his mouth to Jay's ear before whispering, ever so softly, "Tick tock."


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, sorry it's been a while since I updated, I had finals going on. But now that I'm free, here's ch8 for you! It wasn't easy to write, and I couldn't have done so without Mia! So thank you for all your help! Please read and review! Enjoy!**

* * *

The last two days had taken a toll on Jay. He was weak from the loss of blood and the constant beating he had been subjected to. A point had come where he had blacked out from the pain.

Cold water was thrown on him to revive him. The basement he was being held in was musty, dank and cold. With his hands duct-taped together and attached to a hook from the ceiling, his body was exposed for any kind of torture Lucas had planned, and there would be no way for Jay to prevent it. He was still slowly bleeding from the gunshot wound on his abdomen and it had already been two days since Lucas had shot him. Yet somehow, Jay knew his ordeal wasn't over; there was still more.

With an aching body, newly opened wounds on his torso, and a gunshot wound, Jay still found some strength to keep his body upright. His arms and shoulders ached, but that pain was nothing compared to anything he was about to receive or had already received.

The door of the basement swung open and Lucas entered with a sinister grin on his face. He clearly enjoyed torturing the detective. It was something he had promised Mia he would do when he got the chance.

"Just thought you'd wanna know, Detective, your pretty girlfriend and little sister are going crazy trying to find you. It's killing them," Lucas taunted, the sadistic smirk never leaving his face.

"What do you want?" Although weak, Jay still managed to respond back in a strong voice, which came as a surprise to Lucas. He had thought the detective was weak, therefore barely able to speak. But clearly, it would take a lot to break Jay.

"All in due time, Halstead...All in due time." Lucas pulled out the infamous knife of his which he seemed to carry around everywhere and use whenever he had the chance.

Jay held Lucas's gaze, never flinching from the sight of the knife. "Am I supposed to be intimidated?" Jay raised an eyebrow, watching Lucas's eyes darken at the knowledge that the knife wasn't intimidating Jay at all.

Instead of replying, Lucas replaced his knife back in his belt, once again looking at Jay. "I'll break you eventually," he warned before walking out.

Lucas had left two hours ago. Jay had been in and out of consciousness again, his body weakening every moment. In truth, he wasn't quite sure how much more he would be able to take before his body shut down.

Barely conscious at the moment, Jay felt someone take his hands, still duct-taped, off the hook. He couldn't see who it was, and his weak state caused him to fall to his knees.

Lucas walked back in, followed by another man.

From his position on his knees, Jay raised his head weakly, and his gaze landed on his girlfriend, who was gagged and had her hands bound behind her back. Her eyes widened when she saw Jay.

"You son of a bitch!" Jay was angry, his jaw clenched as he sent a death glare in Lucas's direction.

Lucas just laughed, sending a vicious kick to the gunshot wound on Jay's abdomen. Jay groaned in pain, and Erin struggled against the man holding her, her muffled screams satisfying Lucas immensely.

Jay's body was on fire. He was barely able to stay conscious, but seeing Erin trussed up and gagged ignited a fire within him. He wasn't about to let the bastard hurt Erin.

"Let her go, Lucas," Jay said firmly.

"Oh but I can't." Lucas walked over to Erin, grabbing her by the hair forcefully and shoving her onto her knees. "Why don't YOU tell him your little secret then, Detective Lindsay? What have you been hiding from your partner?"

Erin's eyes were full of tears and she tried to look away, but Lucas grabbed her face roughly and ripped the duct tape off her mouth. She looked at Jay, her eyes sad. "Jay," she said quietly.

"Get away from her!" Jay's attempt to free himself from the mad holding him was in vain.

Lucas simply sent a nod in the direction of the man restraining Jay. The man mercilessly jerked Jay's arm back, and he cried out in pain, hearing the sickened 'pop' of his shoulder being dislocated from its socket.

"STOP!" Erin cried, watching Jay double over in pain. Seeing him in so much pain was breaking her heart.

"Then tell him, Erin. Tell him what you're hiding from him. Or God so help him, we can do worse to him," Lucas threatened menacingly.

"God no, please," Erin sobbed. "Please."

Lucas remained silent for once, his gaze returning back to the man. The man pulled Jay back up, hanging his duct-taped hands back to the hook, which sent waves on pain up Jay's arms, making him cry out again. Erin winced, her heart hurting.

"Why are you doing this!?" Erin screamed at Lucas.

"Because I enjoy it, love," Lucas gloated, tugging her head back. "Now then, either you tell him your secret or I'll do it for you."

Erin gulped, her eyes looking back at Jay. His eyes, though blazing furiously, also held so much pain and Erin found herself sobbing. It was breaking her to see her boyfriend in pain and hurt. "I-I'm p-pregnant, Jay," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

Jay's eyes never left her. He was shocked, to say to the least. "You're...what?" he choked out.

"I found out weeks ago, and I always meant to tell you, but I guess...I never could," Erin confessed tearfully. "I was scared."

From beside her, Lucas scoffed insensitively. "You're probably right to be scared...Your boyfriend won't be alive much longer to EVER be able to be a daddy."

Erin choked back a sob. She _needed_ Jay.

Sensing how much those words would have hurt Erin, Jay knew she needed some reassurance. "Hey. Erin, look at me," he coaxed gently.

Erin raised her eyes to meet his, biting on her lip to keep from crying.

"Don't listen to anything he says."

Erin nodded slightly.

In a fit of demonic rage, Lucas threw Erin to the floor and crushed her hand beneath his boot. Erin cried out in pain, making Jay angrier. Now that he knew Erin was pregnant, he realized Lucas wasn't just hurting Erin, but also Jay's unborn child.

In a desperate attempt to turn Lucas's focus on him, Jay decided to antagonise him. "Why don't you man up and hurt me instead?"

Lucas stopped, lifting his boot from Erin's bound hand. Her left hand was throbbing, and she was pretty sure it was broken.

Lucas turned on Jay, a smirk lighting up his face once again. "Maybe you're right, Halstead...I can just SHOW your pretty little girlfriend here how her baby daddy won't live to see his child...or was it, children, Detective Lindsay?"

Jay looked at Erin. Although she kept a straight face, Jay could see through her façade. She was carrying twins?

Despite the tears shining in her eyes, Erin glared straight at Lucas. "You're a sick-ass bastard and once our team gets here, you're NEVER going to see the light of day again."

Through his pain, Jay couldn't help but smirk proudly. One of the billions of reasons he'd fallen in love with his partner, against Voight's better wishes, was because of her ability to speak her mind, no matter what the situation.

"The team won't stop till they find us and believe me, you'll be going to a place far worse than hell," Erin went on angrily.

Lucas grinned, enjoying her feistiness. "Oh, you'd better watch that pretty little mouth of yours, Detective Lindsay...It's gonna get you into REAL trouble one day." He kneeled beside her, taking out his knife and pressing it against her throat so roughly that drops of blood appeared and ran down her neck. "Trust me, sweetheart. You really DON'T wanna piss me off."

"Get off of her!" Jay's voice dripped with venom as he strained against his bonds, determined to get Lucas away from Erin. His movements caused more pain to shoot up his body, but he gritted his teeth and clenched his jaw to block it out. His sole focus was to make sure his pregnant girlfriend was safe and far away from the son of a bitch who was threatening her life at the moment.

Erin struggled against his tight grip, trying to lash out with her legs, but he had her well and truly trapped beneath his weight. Lucas smirked, tightening his grip on her hair and pressing his lips to her neck. She cringed, her attempts to kick him in vain.

"Lucas, I swear to God-." The muscles in Jay's jaw jumped, his eyes blazing angrily as he watched Lucas dig the knife deeper into Erin's throat. Jay was seeing red.

"What'll you do, Halstead?" Lucas taunted. "You're tied up. Slowly bleeding to death. Half beaten up. Weak from blood loss. So, tell me again. What'll you do?"

Jay stayed silent, but he promised himself he was going to make Lucas pay if he got the chance.

Lucas's smirk widened as he turned back to Erin. "Maybe you shouldn't be so quick to talk, Detective Halstead. After all, we wouldn't want poor Erin here to be left all alone...Well, at least not in the same way you left your poor sister."

Erin rolled her eyes, scoffing. "You can stop with your crap," she informed him icily. "I don't believe a word of what you're saying."

"That's a shame. You should believe me. And, don't be too confident about your team finding you...I''ve got men tailing them and they're nowhere near close to finding your location," Lucas continued with his taunting, enjoying every millisecond of it.

Lucas suddenly jumped up, spinning his knife around in his fingers. "I have an idea...How about we bring Mia to join the party?"

Jay stayed silent again, unsure of what angle Lucas was playing. If it had been only him tied up in the basement with the lunatic, Jay would have gladly given him hell. But now he had to make sure Lucas didn't hurt Erin or his unborn children.

When Jay didn't say anything, Lucas went on. "I've got my men tailing Mia too. All it takes is one phone call and she'll be here," Lucas laughed.

"You expect me to believe that?" Jay raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe you should." Lucas advanced on Jay, pulling out his mobile phone. He played a video and held it out for Jay to see.

*video clip*

 _"Adam, I have to find Jay. He's my brother and he's always been there for me." Mia, with tears in her eyes, turned on her partner. "I was 7. There was this kid who was older than me, he was probably 10. He loved to beat the shit out of children weaker than himself. And I didn't like it but I never did anything about it. Until he decided to hurt my friend, that is. He was twice my size, probably even twice my weight and he hurt me for calling him out. Trust me, until then, I had never seen Jay so angry as he was when he saw my state...He's always looked out for me. Even when he went to Afghanistan, I knew he would still be there for me whenever I needed him to be."_

 _"Yeah, I'm not planning on getting on Jay's bad side," Ruzek promised Mia. "But why aren't you and Will close? I know you guys barely talk."_

 _"Yeah well, he left."_

 _"So did Jay."_

 _Mia spun back on Adam, glaring daggers at him. "Jay's been there for me since I could walk, Adam. He's always protected me, from everything. He joined the Army as a promise to our mom to keep me safe, and that included external threats. He was my rock. And I was okay he left because I knew that no matter what, he'd_ never _stop being my older brother."_

*video clip ends*

From her position, Erin had heard everything and a small smile came to her lips. She knew that despite Mia always telling him she didn't blame him for leaving, Jay had always harboured the guilt of the thought that he had abandoned her.

At first Jay was shocked. It's not that he didn't believe Mia. He did, because he had heard the sincerity in her voice when she had been talking. But his shock turned to anger the moment he realized Lucas indeed had men shadowing and stalking his baby sister.

"Stay the hell away from my sister or I swear to God I'll make you pay for hurting her," Jay threatened, his voice hard and angry.

Lucas's eyes darken as he stepped towards Jay. "Again with the empty threats, Detective. When will you learn, there's no saving you."

Lucas pulled out his knife, inspecting it in the light before once again moving closer towards Jay. His eyes fell on the wound, and Jay knew what was coming before Lucas even made a move.

Erin couldn't see this, Jay knew. He needed to save her from the horror of what was to happen.

Jay locked eyes with Erin. "Erin, babe. Don't look. Please, look away."

Erin shook her head, unsure of what to do. She heard the desperation in Jay's voice but she didn't want to resign herself to the same fact that he had accepted.

"Erin, please. Please, don't look. Please." Jay's voice cracked, and Erin finally lowered her head, so she wouldn't have to see what came next but she heard it.

Lucas dug the knife's blade into the open wound on Jay's abdomen. He pushed the knife into the flesh, causing Jay to cry out, as Lucas shifted the blade inside, looking for the bullet. The pain was excruciating, and Jay's cries of pain caused Erin to sob. Lucas finally dug the bullet out, twisting the knife in Jay's wound, making sure that it would leave a scar on the detective.

Jay's body was weakening fast, the loss of blood making him nauseous and dizzy. He was ready to throw up the contents of his stomach, which was close to nothing, since he hadn't eaten for two days.

"Stop, please!" Erin begged, sobbingly, as she heard Jay cry out again, his voice getting weaker. "Lucas stop! PLEASE!" She tried to free her wrists but she couldn't and Jay was nearing death's door very rapidly.

Finally Lucas yanked the knife out of Jay, dropping the blood-covered bullet onto the floor and heading back towards Erin. He wiped the blood off the blade on Erin's cheek, making her sob harder.

Lucas just laughed, signalling his men. The two men walked out and Lucas was left with Erin and Jay. He crouched over Erin, patting her blood streaked cheek. He turned his head to look at Jay, who was barely able to keep conscious, dazed from progressive blood loss and pain.

"Well, you have a couple of hours with your boyfriend till I come back," Lucas announced, untying Erin. "Enjoy your last moments with him, Detective Lindsay." With another cruel and malicious laugh, Lucas departed.

Erin immediately stood up from the floor, running over to Jay. She attempted to free his hands first but with no luck. Her chests heaving with sobs, Erin moved to take off her shirt, leaving her in a tank top. She balled her shirt up and pressed it to Jay's open wound, which was gushing out with blood.

"E-Erin."

Erin looked up. Jay's pain-filled eyes were watching her, and she could see the love shining in them, and despite her tears and the situation, she couldn't help but let a small smile spread on her lips. "Jay, shh," she whispered, raising one hand to caress the newly forming stubble on his face.

Jay shook his head. "Erin," he whispered, weakly. "I-I love you...Make sure-the kids...are o-okay." His eyes were fluttering, his body sagging and Erin had to wrap her free arm around his waist to support him while she used her other hand to press her shirt against his abdomen.

"Jay, no, don't say that," Erin begged, tears threatening to spill. "I can't lose you. So don't you dare give me a goodbye speech."

"I love you."

Erin shook her head vigorously. "No, Jay. No. Please, stay with me, okay? Stay with me...You're going to be fine. You're going to be a dad, Jay. Please. You're going to have two wonderful kids who will look up to you, who will love you...You need to stay alive for them, for me. Jay, please!"

Erin was doing the best she could to keep Jay awake, but his battered body and lack of energy proved to make the task more difficult for her. She was holding back the desire and urge to cry and sob. Instead, she focused on Jay. Talking to him, reliving some of their best memories as partners and as a couple, telling him about how she had always wanted to be with him since she first set eyes on him, how her first thought had been 'wow, I have a hot partner'...Anything to keep his mind of his pain.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, I know its been a while since I updated! But had some family issues, and I wasn't motivated to publish anything at all. But hopefully I can give you guys another update soon, I will try! Read and review, thanks for all the love xx**

* * *

"I've been wanting to tell you for ages now," Erin whispered, doing her best to support Jay's body. The weaker he got, the more he couldn't hold himself up. Her shirt had now been soaked with his blood, but she kept her eyes fixed on her boyfriend.

It was hard for Jay to really focus on what Erin was saying. Everything hurt and as hard as he tried to keep his weight off Erin, he could barely hold himself up, let alone pay attention to what she was saying. But for her sake, he tried. He always tried.

"Tell me...what?" he managed, trying not to wince as he felt pain ripple up from his dislocated shoulder.

"Everything," Erin admitted. "Just, everything. From how I felt, to the pregnancy, to the fact that we're having twins...a boy and a girl."

Jay was surprised, he couldn't deny it. But he was also thrilled, though lack of energy prevented him from being able to voice his thoughts. Erin could feel his body sagging even more, he couldn't hold on much longer, she knew. The thought of him giving up now hurt Erin, she needed him more than she ever realised, and she wanted her children to have a father. They deserved that.

"Hey, Jay...You're doing great, just don't give up now, babe. Please," Erin encouraged her voice soft and gentle. She held him tighter, pressing down on his wound. He was bleeding to death and she had no way of getting him the help he needed.

"Erin," Jay whispered, his voice barely audible. "If anything...happens to...me, just make sure...they know I love...them."

Tears rolled down Erin's cheeks. She didn't want him to give up but the fact that he was telling her this made her realise, he knew he could die...He knew there was a high probability of that happening given his current state.

"And, I love you," he added, before his eyes closed and his body sagged against her.

Erin sobbed, tightening her arm around his waist. She needed to free him. Somehow. But she couldn't reach his hands, or the hook either. He had passed out from the pain but she really hoped he wasn't dead.

* * *

Two hours later, and Erin was still clinging onto Jay's lifeless body. Although he was still breathing, it was laboured and his bleeding had slowed but hadn't fully stopped. Erin pressed her face into his rock-hard, muscled chest, hearing his heart beating weakly. That was the only proof she needed to know he was still alive.

The door of the basement swung open instantly, and Lucas walked in. When Erin turned her head her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets...How could this even be possible? She had killed him, so how was he still alive?

Right behind Lucas was Derek Keyes, the man who had tortured Jay months earlier and whom Erin had believed she had killed.

Lucas laughed at Erin's pale and horror stricken face. He grabbed her by the hair, making her cry out, but she didn't waste time. She struck out at him, her punch landing square on his jaw. He gasped out in pain, making her smirk.

"A little punch and you're in pain. Gosh you really are the epitome of a coward," Erin mocked.

Meanwhile, Keyes had gone up to Jay, who had slowly begun to regain consciousness. When he saw Keyes, his first instinctive reaction would have been to be shocked, but knowing he couldn't risk giving either Lucas or Keyes that satisfaction, Jay kept a straight face, even as his gaze locked with Keyes's.

Lucas managed to restrain Erin finally, tying her wrists and legs up. "You're gonna love this, sweetheart," he grinned maliciously, even as she glared at him.

As much as Erin wanted to lunge forward and tackle both men, she knew she had to protect her children as well. But she didn't want to see what Derek would do to Jay. She wouldn't be able to bare it.

Lucas watched Erin's eyes stay focused on Jay, but the fear in them was detectable. Turning to Jay, Lucas chuckled. "You remember Derek Keyes, don't you, Detective Halstead? I heard you both had a little run in a few months back."

Erin heard the way his voice mocked Jay, and she was angered. "You sick asshole! We know it was you."

Despite everything, Jay still managed to lock eyes with Erin. "Erin, don't," he warned gently.

Lucas grinned sadistically. "You'd be wise to listen to your boyfriend, Detective Lindsay. He knows a thing or two about Keyes, that neither you nor your little ones ever want to find out. Isn't that right, Halstead?" He added, facing Jay again.

Erin watched as Keyes pulled out a taser. Her eyes watered as she watched Jay's already battered body stiffen, he knew what was coming next. What saddened Erin is that he was expecting it...he was ready.

"Please, don't," Erin pleaded, suddenly emotional. "Don't do this."

Keyes turned on Erin, his eyes narrowing at her. "I remember you. You're that lady cop who came to save your boy not too long ago. You thought you had killed me, didn't you?"

Erin stared back at him defiantly. "Given the chance, I'd gladly do it again...And this time, I'd make sure you were dead before I walked out."

Keyes chuckled humourlessly. "You're right, Lucas. She's feisty."

Jay guessed exactly what Keyes was alluding to and the thought sickened him. "Don't you dare touch her, Keyes!" he spat out angrily, his jaw clenched and his eyes blazing.

Keyes pulled off his jacket, rolling his sleeves up as he sparked the taser. Moving closer to Jay , he asked rhetorically, "Where was it the last time, Detective?"

Jay didn't reply, he just held Keyes's gaze defiantly. He wasn't fazed by the drug lord everyone thought Erin had killed.

"I think, it was right-here." Keyes jabbed the taser into Jay's abdomen, eliciting a cry of pain and making Jay's body swing back in pain.

Erin closed her eyes, not wanting to watch. She hadn't seen the video clip the last time but judging by her friend's faces and Voight's expression too, Erin had known it was bad. And Voight's words had broken her, although she hadn't shown it. She remembered them clearly and it made her cry harder.

"Would you like a turn, Detective Lindsay?" Keyes asked.

"Leave her alone," Jay responded through gritted teeth.

"What was that?" Keyes spun back on Jay, sparking the taser again. When Jay didn't answer, Keyes jabbed the taser into Jay's abdomen again.

"Maybe we should let Erin here have a go?" Lucas suggested.

"And let her have all the fun?" Keyes exclaimed, laughing as he sent another shock through Jay's weakened body. "I don't think so."

Jay groaned in pain, and Keyes smirked. "Say that again, Detective? I didn't quite understand you." Keyes taunted, shocking Jay again, making him cry out again.

His pained cries were breaking Erin's heart and she tried to block it out anyway she could. But she couldn't. It was there. It was real. She couldn't escape.

Lucas noticed Erin closing her eyes tightly, and he roughly grabbed her hair again, yanking her head back. "We wouldn't want you to miss the show, now would we?"

Keyes stopped, after sending one last vicious jab into Jay's abdomen. He then grabbed his jacket and left, having held up his end of the deal. Which he had thoroughly enjoyed, same as last time.

Lucas turned to Jay. "How do you think Mia's going to be handling all this, Halstead? She hates never being in control."

"If you dare lay even a finger on her, I swear to God you'll regret it!" Jay promised fiercely.

"What are you gonna do? Save Erin, just like you saved Mia all those years ago when I took away her innocence?" Lucas demanded.

Jay felt sick listening to Lucas gloat.

Satisfied that he had managed to successfully shut the detective up, Lucas reached for the button on Erin's jeans before unzipping them and stripping them off her. She was left in her underwear. With her legs and hands tied, Erin couldn't fight Lucas off. Jay was trying to get Lucas to stop but it was to no avail. Lucas was in control here.

Lucas pulled out his knife, running the blade along Erin's thigh, making her gasp in pain. The flesh wound wasn't deep but it stung badly. His other hand tightened on her hair, tugging it back. He pressed his lips to hers, as she struggled beneath him. tears running down her cheeks.

Ignoring the pain in his body and dislocated shoulder, Jay tried to free himself, even though his attempts only proved fruitless. He was hurting himself more in the process but he didn't care, as long as he found a way to get Lucas off Erin.

Apparently, the mere fact that Jay was trying to free himself caught Lucas's attention. Lucas dropped Erin's head and stood up, walking over to Jay. He balled his fist and sent a vicious punch to Jay's abdomen. Despite Erin's protests, Lucas got in many hard, vicious punches in, and Jay coughed up blood.

Erin's worry for her boyfriend only heightened at that moment. She had a bad feeling he was bleeding internally and she needed to get him to Med fast.

Just when she was about to give up all hope, Erin heard noises from above. And suddenly, the basement door was being kicked down.

"Chicago PD! Put your hands up right now, Gilmore! Right where we can see'em!" Adam ordered angrily.

Lucas raised his arms slowly.

Mia ran straight up to Erin, immediately untying her and helping her put her jeans back on. "Erin, you okay? You're bleeding."

"I'm okay, I'm fine," Erin nodded, her eyes travelling back to where Kevin had successfully untied Jay, who was now lying on the floor, barely alive.

Erin and Mia raced to Jay, who had started to bleed more again and was fast losing consciousness.

"Jay, you have to stay awake. Stay with us, babe," Erin begged, her tears falling as she touched his cheek, her thumb running over his stubble. She could hear Alvin radioing for an ambulance behind her while Adam and Kevin handcuffed Lucas roughly.

Seeing her brother in such a bad state was making Mia emotional but she knew she had to keep her cool. She needed to be strong. "Jay, you better stay awake or else I'm gonna kick your ass."

A ghost of a smile appeared on Jay's face and Mia hoped he would be okay. She held back tears as she leaned forward to leave a kiss on her brother's forehead. "Erin, keep him awake," Mia whispered to her friend before getting up.

Kevin and Adam were already hauling Lucas towards the stairs.

"Hey!" Mia stopped her colleagues.

Seeing the rage on Mia's face, Adam stepped forward. "Mia, he isn't worth it," he tried to warn his partner.

"Let her do it," Voight spoke up. "He deserves worse."

Mia sent her boss a grateful look before walking in front of Lucas.

"He withstood more than you did, darling," Lucas whispered.

Mia's world came crumbling down. She had seen the external injuries and knew that Jay had gone through hell at Lucas's hands. And she didn't know if she could handle it, knowing that Lucas had only hurt Jay to get back at her. Lucas's words had created a void in her heart.

Instead of showing Lucas any emotion, Mia sent a punch straight into Lucas's face, breaking his nose in the process. He howled in pain, blood gushing from his nose. The punch had been delivered with such anger and force that Lucas had been knocked back into Kevin. Both Kevin and Adam were momentarily stunned.

Adam immediately came to Mia, concerned that she had hurt her hand. "Mia, you good?"

"Honestly, I'm fine," Mia replied back, glaring right at Lucas. Even as she had replied to Adam, she hadn't shifted her gaze from Lucas.

Adam slung an arm around Mia's shoulders and smiled. "Damn though, that was one hell of a punch you got in there, partner."

Lucas was seething with rage but Mia smirked, raising an eyebrow at Lucas. "Jay taught me."

Kevin yanked Lucas back. "You truly chose the wrong family to mess with, Gilmore."

Mia nodded appreciatively in Kevin's direction. Kevin took Lucas away and Adam turned to Mia. "I could drive you to the hospital."

Mia shook her head, finally letting her tears fall. "I need to be with Jay. He's my brother and I love him. He may not have always been there, but today just proved to me that I can't live without him. Nothing will ever ruin the fact that he's my older brother...He went through hell and back, for me. I need to go with him, Adam."


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, been a long delay, sorry. Been quite caught up in other things and had no motivation to write. This might be really bad, and for that, I apologize! xx Hope you like it! If you do, please leave your thoughts & comments. **

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Mia paced the hallway of Chicago Med. She couldn't keep still. No matter what anyone else said, she couldn't stay calm. Not when her brother was on the verge of dying. Not when he'd suffered through all that pain and torture on her behalf. He was tortured because of her.

On the bright side, Erin was okay. She had only suffered a flesh wound, which didn't need much other than antiseptic and to be wrapped up.

"Mia, stop pacing," Adam murmured.

"I can't," Mia shot back. "In case you didn't realise, my BROTHER was just tortured for DAYS, Ruzek. And I wasn't able to save him on time."

"That's not on you, Mia," Kevin reassured the guilt-ridden Halstead. He touched her shoulder gently. "We're a team. We all failed Jay this time."

Mia sighed, finally sitting down. She wouldn't allow herself to cry...Not here. Not yet.

Adam looked at his partner, and a sigh left his lips.

Erin sat beside Mia, putting an arm around the younger woman. "Hey, Jay's going to make it, okay? You have to believe that right now, Mia," she whispered kindly.

Mia bit her lower lip. "I can't...This is on me, Erin. Lucas targeted Jay because of me, because of what Jay means to me...Lucas knew that torturing him would hurt me more than if he had tortured me."

"Don't let him win. You're stronger than that. I know you are," Erin replied. "We need to be strong for Jay."

"Okay," Mia relented sitting back.

Hours passed and finally, Dr. Connor Rhodes walked up to the unit. Everyone stood up, but Mia and Erin were the ones standing directly in front of the doctor.

"What's the news, Dr. Rhodes?" Erin asked softly.

"Jay was lucky," Dr. Rhodes admitted. "He lost a lot of blood. We needed to do multiple surgeries on him. We stopped his internal bleeding, which was life-threatening. His shoulder is broken, but it'll heal. As far as we're concerned, he's still not out of the woods yet. We do need to keep him here for another few days to observe him. We lost him a couple times during the surgery, so we want to make sure that doesn't happen again. It may take him a couple of months before he can go back on the field though."

"Thank you , Dr. Rhodes," Mia nodded gratefully, shaking the doctor's hand.

"Is it possible for us to see him?" Erin inquired.

"I think it should be okay," Rhodes nodded. The doctor led Mia and Erin to Jay's hospital room.

Erin gave the doctor another grateful nod as Mia entered her brother's room. He was still unconscious, and hooked to machines. One of them was monitoring his heartbeat and his oxygen levels. Despite his many cuts and bruises, and his bandaged shoulder, he looked almost at peace...This time, Mia couldn't stop the tears from falling as she gently took hold of her brother's hand.

"I'm sorry," she whispered inaudibly, as she leaned forward to kiss his forehead.

Erin took a seat on his other side, running her hand up and down his arm. She was just glad he was alive and breathing.

Mia sat down as well, but she never let Jay's hand go. She was afraid that if she did, he would fade away. She watched him sleep, his chest rising and falling, a sure sign he was still alive...But she knew, she knew how close he had come to never breathing again, and that scared her more than anything.

"Mia?" Erin said.

Mia looked up. "Hm?"

"I'm getting something to drink. Do you want anything?"

Mia shook her head. "I'm okay, thanks Erin."

"Are you sure?" Erin raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Mia lied.

"Okay then." Erin got up and left.

Mia turned back to her brother. She pressed her face into his neck, and cried.

It felt almost like a dream when she felt Jay wrap his good arm around her back, his voice soft as he whispered in her ear, "Hey."

She choked out a sob of relief. "Jay."

"Think it's been...7 years, since I last saw you cry," he half-joked.

Mia let out a sob-laugh. "Oh my goodness, stop. I want to hit you right now, but I won't."

"Wow, shocker," Jay winked. "Probably taking all of your willpower not to punch me."

Mia shook her head. Yup, her brother was alive.

"Jeez, Jay. You just woke up after surgery and you're already on fire," Erin commented, walking in with a cup of tea in her hand.

He laughed and Mia was super glad to hear his voice again.

"When am I NOT on fire, though? I mean, have you seen my rugged good looks and charming personality?"

Mia grinned as Erin rolled her eyes humorously. "Please, Halstead," Erin scoffed. "Keep dreaming."

"Hey, it got me the girl, didn't it?"

Erin blushed tomato-red. Nothing made her happier than knowing that Jay Halstead was hers, and that he was alive and the father of her babies. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, her hand moving to his face.

Mia smiled. If anybody deserved happiness and love, it was her brother. Erin did too. And they were both perfect for each other. Mia couldn't be any happier for them.

After they pulled away, Erin sat back, her cheeks flushed. She felt as if she was on cloud nine.

"Jay," Mia finally said. "In all this chaos, I think we may have forgotten to mention it, but, we got Lucas."

"You're leaving out the best part though, Mia," Erin added. She turned back to her boyfriend. "Your little sister got one hell of a punch in...She got Gilmore straight in the nose."

Jay smiled at a red-faced Mia. "So you WERE paying attention when I taught you," he said proudly.

Mia smiled sheepishly. "I suppose...my ears were sorta open."

Erin laughed. Mia went forward to hug her brother again.

"I'm just glad you're not dead, Jay," she said quietly.

Erin stood up. "Well I have an errand to run, I'll be back soon, Jay." She kissed him again before departing, knowing that the siblings needed some time together.

* * *

Once Erin had left, Mia closed the door behind her.

"Mia, what's wrong?" Jay asked, looking worried.

"I know you're going to say otherwise, but the truth is, it's MY fault Lucas was here in the first place. MY fault he hurt you, Jay. He...he tortured you for days. And I couldn't find him, I should have been able to get to you sooner, but I didn't. You almost died for me...because of me. What kind of a cop am I if I couldn't even locate you guys? And when he kidnapped Erin, I knew what his plan was, what he wanted and even then, I failed you. I just keep failing when I need to succeed. I wanted to KILL him, even if it meant losing my job...He deserves far worse...Everything he did here was only a fraction of what he did in New York, but it feels like I will NEVER be able to get past what he did to you. I'm sorry."

Mia was in tears again. So much for trying to be strong.

"You're right; I am going to say it's not your fault, Mia," Jay replied as Mia sat on the edge of his bed. "If I had known sooner what he did to you, he wouldn't be breathing right now. But I didn't. Not until he said a few things to me while he had me."

Mia's eyes snapped up to meet her brother's. "What did he say?"

The pained look in his eyes and his clenched jaw was all the answer she needed. Lucas had told Jay everything. Tears of shame and humiliation came into her eyes. She looked back down, unable to say a word, or to even look her own brother in the eyes.

"None of it is on you, Mia," Jay whispered. "It doesn't matter what Lucas said to me. What matters is that you know I don't blame you for anything. Whatever he did to me, and to you in New York, is in the past. He's going to prison. Now, we need to get past this and I promise you, we will. Together."

Mia nodded. "Thank you," she choked out.

He just hugged her, and very soon, she fell asleep, her head resting on his good arm.

Jay let out a deep breath. He would keep this promise to her, he told himself. They both needed to heal, but his priority was making sure she did. Even at the cost of his own healing.

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 **So guys, if you have any ideas on** **how I can proceed, please feel free to PM me with your ideas, i'd love to hear some xx And I will give a shout out to the idea I use in the next chapter, thank you for all your support, its been amazing to see people still loving this story xx Love you guys :)**


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